Wages of Sin
by MissWorded
Summary: The death of Kiryu Tsuyu sets off a chain reaction of unimaginable events in her daughter's life. Watch as Mimori battles odds, AlterUsers and herself to find what she needs. ON PERMANENT HIATUS.
1. Far From Home

**An important note: **Kaa-chan, kaa-san, and okaa-sama all mean mother, with varying degrees of respect.

**kaa-chan **would be used with the least respect (probably more affectionate), followed by **kaa-san, **and finally **okaa-sama. **Suffixes of respect are really big in Japan; you only time you wouldn't use one is in the case of a very close friend, lover/spouse. Notice how the suffixes change from "chan" to "san" to "sama". The more respectful, the more politely distant. And you thought school was out.

**Aijou **means beloved daughter.

**Moshi moshi **means like "Anybody in there?" It's also used when answering the phone.

"Regular font and quotes is Dialouge"

**REMEMBER KIDS!**

**CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS ENCOURAGED!**

_**Also, spelling/grammar mistakes are appreciated. **_

**

* * *

Wages of Sin**

Prologue: _Far From Home

* * *

_

Kiryu Mimori gazed blankly onto the large computer screen, wondering dimly how much longer this day could last. Cougar popped out of nowhere, surprising her.

"Heeeyyy, MINORI-SAAN! I've barely seen you all day and I—"

_

* * *

_

_Where in the world has my aijou gone?_

_BOO!_

_AH! You've got me again, Mimori._

_I **always **get you, kaa-chan!_

_

* * *

_

Hours stretched on for endless eternities inside the depressingly sterile HOLD/HOLY facility.

"Criminal Codename NP3240. You are responsible for the death or injury of 3 people. What do you have to say for yourself?" asked the interrogator with a touch of anger.

_

* * *

_

_Kiryu Mimori! What do you have to say for yourself! Answer me!_

_I-I'm sorry, kaa-san. I was just trying to-_

_**NO**, Mimori! You left the house after I** explicitly** asked you not to! I'm **very**_ _disappointed!_

_But I was just-_

_Seeing the stars, I know! ...Please, young lady, come back down to earth!_

_Goodnight._

_Oh sweetie, don't-_

_GOODNIGHT._

_

* * *

_

"Mimori-san. Miiiiiimori-san…. moshi moshi?" Scheris looked strangely at the HOLD researcher. "Uh, are you okay?"

"Just fine, Scheris-san. I suppose I got caught daydreaming. I apologize."

"Oh, that's fine. Well, goodnight and see ya tomorrow!" With a cheerful wave, the Alter-User was out.

"…Yes. Tomorrow."

_

* * *

_

_Aren't you excited? Tomorrow's the big day!_

_I suppose._

_You should be proud of yourself, Mimori! Skipping **SEVEN **grades…my baby girl's a genius!_

…_ted._

_What was that?_

_This is **not **what I wanted. _

_But it's such an accomplishment! _

_All of my friends are below me and now despise me because I skipped so many grades, which shows what kind of friends they were after all. In addition, the people in my current grade hate me because I'm just as smart as them! What's to be proud of?_

_Don't worry about what they say. Your father and I-_

_How could you do this to me?_

_

* * *

_

The building was nearly deserted, inhabited by only a few faithful operatives. Ryuho and Mimori included.

"Kiryu-san."

She turned on her heel, genuinely surprised.

"Ryuho?"

"Your…state of mind has come to my attention, Kiryu-san. I cannot stress enough…the past is the past. Here, on the Lost Ground, we are simply colleagues now."

_

* * *

_

_So. Off to the lost ground, are you._

_Yes, okaa-sama. _

_I hope you find what you're looking for there. _

_Goodbye._

_

* * *

_

Mimori was frozen. Her entire mind and body were in shock so that she could not function at all for a few seconds. Her heartbeat slowed; her brain completely shut down.

"Goodb- "

But only for a few seconds.

"**_Excuse_** me! Did you just say what the **hell **I thought you did!" Her face was absolutely livid, lip curled up in a disbelieving grimace.

Her open hostility made him step back a few inches.

"Kiryu-san- "

" Don't you fucking "Kiryu-san" me, goddammit! My mother is **_DEAD_**. My mother _died _not but a few hours ago, but you have the **_disgustingly atrocious gall_** and **_point-blank narrow-mindedness_** to suggest **_YOU_**, some **meaningless** childhood crush, is the reason for my being upset!" She snarled at him. Desperation and tears could be clearly heard in her voice.

Attempting to reel in her temper, Mimori began to speak through gritted teeth. "You are the single most _contemptuous, conceited_ **_jackass_** I've **_EVER _**had the misfortune to meet!" She raced over to face him.

"Ryuu Ryuho. _I hate you._" Ryuho's eyes widened as he reeled back under the force of her swift, stinging slap. The Kiryu heiress walked away with her head held high, leaving him to stew in his distress.


	2. Penpushers & SecretKeepers

**

* * *

Wages of Sin**

_Chapter One: Pen-Pushers and Secret-Keepers

* * *

_

Saotome Shougou was a pompous man who was never without his rosary and 'holier than thou' attitude. The first thing you noticed about him was his wavy burgundy hair. His alter was called Airbender; it controlled the weather. Criminal NP3240 had been caught on the wrong side of the wall, robbing a high-class jewelry store filled with politicians, executives and other such big shots, screaming about the lost purity of men and how he would purge the world one bureaucrat at a time. HOLY arrived within a few minutes and promptly kicked his ass. This blow to the ego had made him surly and noncommittal during his interrogation. Hard labor for life had been his reward.

Tomorrow, Shougou was to be deported to a camp on the outer side of the wall for hard labor, so he was stuck here for the night. Unfortunately, it fell to one royally pissed off heiress to feed him before leaving for home.

"How goes changing the world, my little idealist?" he said quietly to her as she walked in. She had been the one attending to him during his hospital stay, and she had eventually leaked her beliefs about the handling of Alter Users and humans as a whole.

**All people should be treated equally, you say? What a romantic you are, Mimori-san!**

A cold glare. "Do you like eating, or is it something you do in your leisure time?"

"Do you like being a bitch, or do you just do it to annoy me?"

Adrenaline rushing from her earlier bout with Ryuho and incensed at his judgmental comments, she leaned down right in his face, ready to rant, when he grasped her wrists. His grin was edged with lunacy.

"For the past ten years of my life, I have been searching. Searching for someone important enough to HOLD, to HOLY even, that when I passed on my alter to them, a wave of change would come." Shougou smiled insanely at her. "_You_ are that one person."

She blanched at his crazed grin and close proximity. "P-passing on….? You can't do that! It's not—"

"Oh, it's very possible. I simply "alter" myself into your bloodstream…and your mind. And Kiryu Mimori, you are the one. Since your father funds HOLD and HOLY, you are the perfect target. The big-wigs can't ignore the daughter of HOLD's main supplier becoming an Alter User!"

_

* * *

_

_Why do people hurt other people?_

_Why would you want to know such a thing, dearest? You're barely five!_

_I read about the man who shot the two people in the gas station._

…_Well, no more reading the paper for you. People hurt others because they want something. It could be for something materialistic, like money. Sometimes, they do it out of sheer desperation. But others…they devote themselves completely to an ideal, want to accomplish that ideal more than anything else, and would die for it. Even though they hurt people, which iswrong, they are much,_ much_ better than someone who would hurt others just for money. Do you understand?_

…_No._

_Honesty is virtue, sweetie._

_

* * *

_

Pain shot through the tips of her fingers to the tops of her toes, like millions of microscopic, tremendously painful little lightning bolts, each with the strength of their larger counterparts. She screamed, and then quickly blacked out.

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"I think she's coming to."

"Sir, with all do respect…is this entirely humane? Kiryu-san is no criminal."

"Ryuho, never question my orders again. Keep her subdued; we don't know what she'll do."

Mimori blinked her eyes slowly, dully noted the searing pain in her wrists and how her near-sightedness had completely disappeared.

"Kiryu-san…can you hear me?"

_**Mimori-chan…listen carefully...**_

"You have been entrusted to our care from this point forward."

_**I will always be there for you, despite what you think of me... **_

"Due to the nature of the events taking place, I think it would be wisest not to inform your father."

_**Your father…he needs a guiding hand to help him, whether he chooses to admit it or not… **_

"We will be taking charge of the situation accordingly, so don't be alarmed."

_**You need to be that light…HOLY isn't living up to its namesake…you can do it…**_

"I will have Ryuho take over your as your…curator."

_**With that boy on the Lost Ground… you really seemed happy…**_

"Good day, Kiryu-san."

_**Goodbye, my dearest. **_

Commander Jigmar's mullet swayed as he left the room. Dars soon released and followed him. Cinnamon eyes finally focusing, she saw Ryuho's own garnet ones looking down at her from the bridge of his nose. Looking at her surroundings, Mimori panicked slightly as she realized she was hooked up to several machines usually used to monitor a criminal Alter User.

"Kiryu-san. What do you remember?"

'_That letter...the one okaa-sama wrote me…'_

"Apparently, I am the newest zoo attraction, and you have just been assigned the unpleasant duty of _curator_. Oh, and that lunatic Shougou." Sarcasm permeated her every word, especially stressing Jigmar's creative adjective. "What happened to him?"

"He's gone."

She frowned up at him. "What do you mean, "gone"? He can't just disappear!"

It was his turn to frown. "Well, he can. And now you are showing evidence of having an alter, namely, the Airbender."

She gasped quietly to herself; Ryuho had to have heard, but simply furrowed his brow. "How many people know?" Mimori asked quietly.

"Only Commander Jigmar, Dars, and myself. I was the one who heard you last night. For now, Kiryu-san, your main purpose is to rest and calm yourself before I begin the interrogation."

_

* * *

_

_Kaa-san? _

_Hmm?_

_What is my purpose?_

_Nobody automatically_** knows **_their purpose. It's something that has to be discovered. Why would you inquire as to such a silly question? _

_I apologize for asking._

_

* * *

_

"What else do you remember?" His tone of voice stated clearly that sarcasm was not to be allowed. Mimori had heard him use it often…on convicted criminals.

"Shougou said something about altering himself into my bloodstream and my mind. That's all I remember before fell unconscious."

Ryuho took a startled step backwards, eyes widening a fraction.

"So what will you do with me? What about my father?"

The boy composed himself. "Naturally, we'll have to experiment, run some tests."

'_He's making me sound like a piece of mildly interesting mold used in a middle school science experiment.'_

"Your father will be taken care of."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean!"

Even as she ranted at him, the gears in her mind were turning. _'Shougou-san…what about him was different? What allowed him to transfer his alter to me?'_ Mimori suddenly recalled him reciting prayers whenever he could, and the rosary around his wrist. _'He was more pious than most? Well, if alter is using your _**spiritual**_ energy to "alter" things around you, that's not entirely impossible…especially if one was overtly spiritual. That definitely explains his superiority complex. Saotome thinks he's God's gift to the world, sent specifically to "purge the world of corrupt bureaucrats"! …Er, thought he was.'_ Mimori grimaced at her own morbid thinking.

"It _means_ that he will not be informed. He will think you are just fine, completely human."

'_I think I'm getting the gist of the kind of experiments they'll be running.' _"I suppose trying to argue or escape is completely pointless."

"Exactly."

* * *

Yes, we have a death quota of one person per chapter. Next time: The Escape of Mimori and Her Next Move. Though I won't call it that. Sweet wounded Jesus...I love you guys! I felt like a total piece of shit, but then you guys turned my day around! Reviewers **_KICK ASS!_**

**Moon&Stars:** Yes, isn't it just delicious? Mimori: O.O;; Mimori is my absolute favorite! There SHOULD be more stories about her.

**Parallel-Blue13115:** OMIGOD! You're talking...to me? This unworthy one is so very honored! I am absolutely obsessed with your stories! You've brightened _my _day! Anyway... yes, well usually I'm all for RxM, but I'm making Ryuho such a jackass. So I haven't quite decided the romantic interest yet. P.S. **I HEART SEA MONKEYS!**

**death88**: Why thank you!

**huh:** As you wish! Chapter two!


	3. Devil on the Doorstep

"**_italix-ed, bold-ed dialogue is Cougar speaking very fast. You know. Like usual." _**

**

* * *

Wages of Sin**

_Chapter Two: Devil on the Doorstep

* * *

_

A stinging twinge coursed repeatedly through her veins like electric fire.

"That is enough. Take her off it for the day."

Dars #2 pushed various button until what was fondly named the Machine came to a slow, complete stop, and with it so did the pangs.

Mimori groaned. It actually drew out her Alter, which she found to be quite (there was no other word/phrase for it) pretty kick-ass. But she wasn't doing it of her own free will, and they were sucking any sort of energy out of her. It was truly and in all ways exhausting.

"Kiryu-san. If you can hear me, I'm going to ask you some questions." Jigmar said.

'_If I could move my eyes,' _Mimori thought cynically, _'I would roll them.'_

"Number One. Do you have any feelings of pain? Please describe their intensity."

'_Jackass.' _"It feels like a sledgehammer is pounding repeatedly in my head and boring a hole in my skull." The insulted sting in her voice did nothing to sway him.

"Number Two. Has your mental state been affected in any way?"

'_Well, besides the fact that I am being _tortured_, Ryuho's help in this plot has embittered me to a point of no return. And if I stay here any longer it will only get worse.' _

"Not crazy yet."

"I'm finished now. Take her back to her cell."

Her last thought before falling asleep out of exhaustion was, _'Wow this sucks.'_

_

* * *

_

_Was it the same person?_

…

_Answer me!_

_Yes, okaa-san._

_Why do you let them do this to you? You can't just let them do this to you! Look at you, girl. That black eye is going to take _**days**_to fade!_

_They told me…they said that only people with real character took a beating._

_My dear girl… do you _**ever** _listen to me? You have to assert yourself, and not let other push you around. _**That **_takes character._

_

* * *

_

Straight Cougar, the Speedster, the Alter User of Radical Good Speed, was lost and confused.

"HEEEY, SCHERIIIIIS! **_So how've you've been? Well never mind, I don't really care, I was really just wondering if you'd seen Minori-san at all-"_**

"Cougar."

"**_-It's been almost a week since she came to work and Commander Jigmar hasn't told me anything and I-"_**

"Cougar!"

" **_-Was thinking maybe Ryuho knew what the hell was going on, and since you two are such good f— "_**

COUGAR, SHUT UP! I don't know **where **_Mimori_-san is! All I know, is the last time I saw her was Friday as I was leaving about six. So **_stop _**pestering me about it!" screeched the blue-haired girl irritably. "Geez! This is the **third** time you've asked!"

But he was already gone, with a better, slightly risky idea.

_

* * *

_

_Get up, Mimori-chan. We're going over to the Tendo's house._

_Nnngnow… _

_UP, lazy-bones. _

_B-b-b-b-but I was up late…_

_Stop yawning! Mimori, staying up late is no excuse for getting up late, especially after I told you about today's schedule. In fact, it's a lesson learned!_

_I was up late **studying**! And anyway, Sayo's such a b— _

_UP! We have **no **time to spare, Minori-san!_

…_huh?_

_

* * *

_

"I said, get up. Dars number…number…er, one of them will be back shortly."

"C-cougar-san?"

"Yes, yes! Get up please, Minori-san!"

Mimori's mind quickly shook itself into awareness. "How did you—"

"I'll explain on the way. Quick, you have to change back into your uniform so we can sneak out."

"O-okay…" She began to take her hospital-type gown off when she realized he was still in the room, smirking at her.

"COUGAR!" Still grinning like the Cheshire cat, he turned around. In a few quick seconds, she had changed and tapped him on the shoulder. Ryuho's crystal, still hanging around her neck, felt like a dead weight.

"C'mon."

They jogged quickly through the obsessively hygienic HOLY/HOLD complex, stopping only when they reached the Takanaka Lunch Foyer, named after one of the main financial contributors to "the cause". Mimori immediately drew attention, having been missing for almost an entire week.

"Good to see you!"

"Where've you been, Kiryu-san?"

"Mimori-san! Haven't seen you in awhile!"

She nodded and smiled at them all, never stopping her power walk, but barely keeping pace with Straight. They managed to make it to the elevator, and down to the ground floor without incident. Now, he scooped her up easily into his arms, bridal style, and began to sprint full on.

It was only when they were in his car and speeding to her apartment that Mimori dared ask again. "So…how did you find me?"

_

* * *

_

_Mimori? Where are you?_

_-sniffle-_

_Mimori! Why in the world are you hiding in the garden shed?_

_Because I have a fetish for garden tools. Why else would I be here?_

_Don't take that tone with me. Leave the gardening to Sanji-san anyway, that's what we pay him to do. Now, what's wrong?_

…

_Mimori! Sometimes I just want to pull my hair right out of my head… is it about that boy? Whatsisname? _

_His name, mother, was Toyotomi Makoto, and by the way, he is a total jackass. _

_Watch you language._

_MOTHER! He completely _**ditched me **_for some blonde transfer student with bigger boobs and a better smile. Boys are _**horrible!**

_Baby, boys aren't horrible. They're just stupid. You've got to wait for them to mature._

_How many successive gene pools is that gonna take!_

_

* * *

_

"Weeeelllll… **_first I went around HOLD and HOLY constantly, always asking around, and of course I asked the doorman at your apartment and especially Ryuho, since you were childhood friends, and he still cares about you, and— "_**

"_That _is simply impossible. In fact, Ryuu-san was the one who found me and gave me straight to Jigmar." she replied, her tone easily reaching acidic. "So I sincerely doubt he still cares."

"As much as I think you'd like to believe that, I don't think Ryuho would permit them to put you on the Machine. I could tell by how exhausted you are." He explained at her questioning look. "I suspect he doesn't even know what kind of tests they'd run; the Commander is keeping this thing top secret.

"Well, after I asked Scheris for the third time if she knew where you were, I had an idea. Elian."

"Of course! But he's HOLY's eyes and ears; he's probably helping them—"

"That's why I drugged him."

"Wow you're good."

"Then I found you, and you know the rest! **_So I was thinking, Minori-san, we'd go back to your apartment, then you'd have to change very quickly, (I won't watch if you ask nicely) and I'll help pack some essentials, and then I'll drop you off a little bit inside the wall… _**SO WHADDYA THINK, MIIIIIINORI-SAAAAN!" He screeched out the last bit as his car sprouted frog-like appendages and leaped over a few cowering pedestrians.

"Yes…yes, that would be best."

-

-

-

Straight Cougar craned his head around, thoroughly scouring the appearance of Mimori's cozy apartment. There was a distinct Indian theme in the largest, main room. Hung over the mantle was a brilliant photo of the Taj Mahal; the draperies were striped burnished gold, fiery orange and cobalt; the entire color scheme drew you in, but hinted at something mysterious. There was cabinet full of academic medals, degrees, and some trophies for… kick-boxing? And **_rugby_**? The Alter-User of Radical Good Speed grinned.

"Nice place. Very cultured."

Mimori smiled. "Thanks, Cougar."

He grinned again. "You didn't use an honorific….._MINORIII-SAAAN_!"

She blushed, but retorted hotly, "You have got to have some kind of mental disorder that connects to screaming at the top of your voice in innocent people's ears."

"Ha-ha, whatever you say….MIIINO— "

"Could you _please_ be quiet!"

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Thirty minutes later, Mimori was counting off her fingers.

"Functional, comfortable clothes…first-aid kit…food for a week…ten thousand dollars—"

Cougar's mouth hung agape. "Where the hell you get that? A girl like you keeps her money in her bank account, not under her bed!"

She glanced over at him.

_

* * *

_

_Mimori, it never hurts to be prepared, even if you think everything is perfectly fine._

_Why?_

_Because anything could happen. Look at me._

_What do you mean?_

_I let my guard down for a _**second**_ and before I knew it, I was married to your father. _

_Ha-ha._

_

* * *

_

"My mother once said, be prepared. And after I had snooped around HOLY a bit more, I found that…they weren't living up to their namesake. So I organized myself for the worst." stated the girl matter-of-factly. "Shall we go?"

"You're certainly full of surprises, Minori-san."

"I don't get that a lot. Generally, it's 'Stop being so idealistic! …Mi_m_ori-san'."

**-**

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**- **

Meanwhile, back at HOLY….

"So, Ryuho…" Scheris said, yawning slightly. "Any idea where Kiryu-san is?"

"None at all."

"Ryuu-san, sir." said a black-clothed HOLD member at the door. "Commander Jigmar wishes to see you."

"Tell him I will be up there as soon as possible." said Ryuho frostily.

Five minute later found him in Jigmar's office.

"We have a problem."

**-**

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**-**

The ride to the wall was silent, but in no way awkward. The two seemed to just be enjoying each other's company, simply as friends. Within two minutes, they were there.

"I'VE SHRUNK THE WORLD AGAAIIIIN!"

"I think your ego still needs work. Shrink that next time."

"You… cut me deep, Minori-san…you cut me real deep… " Cougar fake-choked as he stepped out of the car. His voice and demeanor changed completely.

"Top secret assignment, courtesy of Commander Jigmar. No one is to know of this." The Speedster stated frigidly. The HOLD officer didn't budge.

"Identification." It wasn't a question so much as a command. The other brandished it, limbs still stiff. When the black-bedecked HOLD thug nodded, Straight spun on his heel and headed quickly into his car. He grinned at the girl in the passenger seat.

"Wow. You do an excellent Ryuho impression."

"Acting is just one of my many talents…"

"Modest too. You just might be the perfect man." She replied sardonically.

"Ooh, ouch!"

It was only a matter of time until Cougar began to slow, barely stopping until the very end. He got out, went around the side of his car, and opened her door. He took her proffered hand.

The pair stood quietly. Flower petals, directed by the wind, glided tranquilly by them.

Mimori raised a single ebony eyebrow. "…Well this is just about the corniest goodbye I've ever had. How about you?"

He grinned. "Yeah, this pretty much tops it all, doesn't it?"

_

* * *

_

_There is nothing more important in your life than a friend._

_What about a husband? Or a parent?_

_Yes, they're important too. But a friend is what you'll always need, no matter what._

_How can I tell if someone really is my friend?_

_As long as you can confide in someone without fear of repercussions, you have a friend._

_

* * *

_

Mimori took a deep breath. "Straight Cougar… you're just about the only true friend I've had for a long, long time." She pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you. Thank you so, so much."

"Mimori-san. I want you to have this." Her jaw dropped.

"You said my name. I… I'm very… impressed."

He had pulled something out of his pocket. It glittered and caught the afternoon light. It wasn't really a necklace, per say. It was a diamond, set on a band of silver (a simple, but very classy ring) hanging from a silver chain. It should have been nothing particularly special (especially seeing as she was an heiress, and had always been exposed to far gaudier things), but the way his eyes softened as he gazed upon it made it all the more unusual. More extraordinary.

"It belonged to someone special to me."

Mimori shook her head negatively. "No. I can't accept this; not without giving you something in return."

She drew the arrowhead crystal from around her neck, and they exchanged necklaces.

"Someone very special gave that to me. Don't you lose it. Or I'll hunt you down." She vowed, mock-glaring up at him.

"I won't lose it. I promise." She reached up on her tippy-toes and gave a friendly peck on the cheek. "See you later, Straight Cougar."

"I will see to that, Mimori Kiryu."

**-**

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Nine days and all food rations later, Mimori found herself dodging the explosion of a HOLD convoy.

"**_SHIT!_**"

**

* * *

**

**Kat:** Just waiting for those Snow Monkeys...

**kades 5**: AMEN AMEN I SAY! Oh yeah, Kazuma will be there...most definitely.

**Moon&Stars:** Wah-lah! So do you like?

**blackrose113:** Ya know, you really shoulda read both chapters...

**gothic-ember: **Awww! Thank you!

**Blue.Haro: **Muwahaha... I guess you'll just have to read and find out!


	4. Insulation

**For the purposes of my story, HOLD/HOLY's Evil Content™ was minimal when Mimori escaped, and has been slowly escalating as she's left. Also, somebody mentioned to me Mimori's OOC-ness. I've tried to tone it down a bit this chapter, but I've also tried to keep in mind that she's become slightly bitter over her experience at HOLY. As a result, she's a bit more "caustic" (I use the word cautiously) than what you're used to. Also again, the next chapter (Four) is going to take a serious turn. So. Just make a note of those three things. Yeah. That'd be great. Okay then. Story. Right.**

**

* * *

Wages of Sin**

Chapter Three: Insulation

* * *

Everyone has bad days. There is not a single person on the face of the planet who hasn't been up shit creek without a paddle. Some individuals just had it worse than others. There are some human beings who just can't shake their bad karma. It follows them like a black cloud, waiting to strike in all sorts of circumstances… for instance, an idiot blowing up a HOLD caravan and having variously-sized chunks of white-hot metal scrap flung at you. This was the sort of predicament Kiryu Mimori was in at the moment. 

'_Who the hell blows up a HOLY convoy in the middle of BROAD daylight?_

…

_Someone with half a brain and lots of guts. In other words… Kazuma.' _

She stood up determinedly from behind her makeshift hiding place (a large boulder) and gazed over at the wreckage.

'_I have to get over there… I need the radio inside the first truck, and quickly.' _

Mimori steeled herself and began to tear over.

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In contrast, Kazuma was having an excellent day. He worked for the first half of the day at the farm, so Kanami wasn't too upset or worried; then Kimishima stopped by after finding out a HOLD procession was passing through nearby, and some pissed-off relatives of since-captured Alter-Users rounded up good money to have them "off-ed", so to speak. From inside, he could hear the twisted moans of pain echoing off the metal walls of the vehicle in front of him.

He frowned a bit. That had been depressingly easy… ah well. Readying a "Second" (as Kunihiko had dubbed it), Kazuma took aim.

"**_WAAAAIIIIT!_**"

The Shell Bullet stared out at the horizon, a small figure quickly coming into focus, obviously sprinting.

'_HEY! It's that woman! The one who helped Kanami! M-… mi-… Midori? Michiko? Minato? Minako? Minoru? Mi…nori? Nah… close though… Mimori!'_

"OI! What are you doing here!" He hardly had to yell though; the girl was now only a foot away. Breathlessly, she collapsed on the ground, curling into a ball and slowing her breathing. It took a few moments before she could speak again.

"Thanks for waiting, Kazuma-san."

He glared. "What did you stop me for! I'm not gonna let 'em get away just cause you work for HOLD!"

"I **do not** work for HOLD, and I am not connected in any way to HOLD or HOLY in any way whatsoever anymore. Don't assume things." She replied angrily. At his surprised, slightly suspicious look, she continued. "Let's use our deductive reasoning skills, shall we? Number one. Do you see anybody else from HOLD and/or HOLY with me? Number two. Am I wearing a HOLD uniform? Number three. Why am I even on the other side of the wall?" Kazuma finally let his guard down, looking sheepish. "Sorry. But can you blame me? Besides, not everyone can be as smart as you people on _That Side_."

Mimori bit her lip. "No. I apologize as well. It's just that when something is blown up fairly close to one, it tends to set one on edge."

"…Who the hell is one?"

"…Never mind. Anyway, I can use the radio in this Mongoose 340XI to listen in on HOLY transmissions. So I didn't want you to destroy it before I could grab it." She sighed irritably as he shot her another look. "A Mongoose 340XI is the truck/tank right in front of you."

"That's NOT what I meant!" he cried indignantly. "I wanted to know how to use that radio. If you can interrupt HOLY broadcasts with that thing, I want to learn how to use it."

_

* * *

_

_Why can't I learn how to use it, kaa-chan?_

_Because you're studying piano right now. You can be taught guitar when you're done with that. _

_I can multi-task!_

_You're **six**. Honestly, it would be so much easier if you were a normal six-year-old, who liked finger-painting and dolls…_

_I refuse to undermine myself and my intelligence in such a way! Playing with finger-paints! For God's sake!_

_Once again, _**SIX.**

**

* * *

**

"Maybe I should explain it to someone a little more technologically advanced… like your friend tongari."

Kazuma snickered. "Yeah, Kimishima's a needle noggin, ain't he? Wait a sec…whaddya mean, "more _technologically advanced_"! Are you saying I'm **_dumb_**!"

Mimori snorted. "Nobody needed to say it."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean! …Aw, just forget it! I have something to ask you." He fidgeted nervously, but his mind was apparently made up. "Would you stay with me and Kanami? I really need to learn how to use that radio… and you look like you need a place to stay," he said with a smirk looking at her ratty clothes and tattered bag (which happened to conceal more ragged clothes and other assorted supplies, now weathered).

"Wow, thanks. I accept, if only because you're learning to use your deductive reasoning skills." She said, grinning as well.

"OI!"

Thirty minutes and one hijacked HOLY Mongoose later, they were on their way back to Kazuma's shack in the slums.

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Meanwhile, a week ago, at HOLY…

"What do you mean by that, Elian?" Martin Jigmar's voice was deceptively calm.

"She's not anywhere I can sense within the City Limits, sir." said the small boy calmly.

"Then that means she's on the other side of the wall… where is Cougar then?"

"… Eating at a beef pot restaurant. It's a good one, too, the Ak—"

"Shut up, Elian."

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"Stop touching the dial, Kazuma**-_kun_**"

"No, I think you should stop changing the station, Mimori-_**chan**._"

"I really think **YOU** should."

"The one I picked is better than **_yours_ **anyway."

"**Hard rock **is _not _better than Billie Holiday. She's a genius."

"I thought you said she was a heroine addict."

"Just forget it… God, you're worse than Cougar." She muttered the last part, as if hoping he wouldn't hear. Already in the car with this guy for thirty minutes and he was driving her crazy.

"Cougar? As in Straight Cougar? You know him?"

"Yes. So what?"

"…Nothing. Why aren't you with HOLD anymore, anyway?"

Mimori quieted. _'I should be honest with him; especially if I'm going to be staying with him until he figures out how to work this thing properly… which means a long time…_

"Well… you know that several rich Mainlanders fund HOLD and HOLY."

"Err…"

"Well then, let's _assume_ that you know that several—"

"—Rich Mainlanders fund HOLY. Yeah, yeah."

"My father, Kiryu Tetsuyo, is one of those people."

_

* * *

_

_Come in._

_Okaa-san. Why was otou-sama yelling at you?_

_Don't worry your pretty little head, dearest._

_Why wouldn't he stop?_

_Your father is just that kind of person._

_What kind of person?_

_The extremely obstinate kind._

_Oh. …What's wrong with…HOLY?_

_Why are you here, Mimori? Get back to bed._

…_Yes, okaa-san._

_

* * *

_

"Then why are you out here? Why did you help me steal a …a…"

"A Mongoose 340XI. Anyway, I went to work at HOLD at 18 years of age because I finished graduate school seven years early."

"Damn!"

"Could you quiet yourself for just a minute while I finish? …Thank you. Now, as I was saying, my father supplies HOLD with money, who in turn fund HOLY. Now, during my stay there, they captured an Alter User named Saotome Shougou. He had an alter named Airbender, and it controlled the weather. About two weeks ago, he passed his alter on to me."

Kazuma just stared at the girl for a few seconds. Then he burst out laughing.

"HAHAHAHA! Are you **_JOKING_**! That's _impossible_!"

"No, it's true!"

"Yeah, right! Hahaha!"

"…I think a demonstration is in order. Get out of the c—Mongoose."

"…w-what? You're serious!" He stared at her incredulously.

"Quite. Get out of the Mongoose."

"Ya know, that sounds kinda we—"

"OUT!"

Grumbling all the way, he followed her about thirty paces away from their vehicle.

"Okay. Like I said before, Airbender controls the weather. This is the first stage of my alter."

Mimori breathed in deeply as her body began to glow an array of colors. The bushes nearby were quickly evaporated.

Kazuma watched, amazed, as this girl who hadn't been born with an alter created an ominous dark cloud that soon poured rain. He noticed after a few seconds that he was not getting wet at all, and neither was she. Grinning to himself, he decided to bait her a little.

"C'mon, is that all ya got?"

The ground around her quickly came into contact with her energy and was transformed into a huge storm of lightning bolts. Kazuma watched, enthralled, as one came and landed in her palm. It curled up on itself into a ball as the rain and clouds disappeared. The diminutive lightning bolt coiled and raced, alight with electricity. To see it under almost complete control was fascinating. Its writhing never slowed at the clouds cleared. The bolt just seemed to slowly but surely fade away.

"Woooowww…."

"I would say I told you so, but I think your expression of complete awe will have to do it for me." She said, grinning. "So… do you believe me now?"

"It would be kind of hard not to." He admitted grudgingly. "But… you can't call it Airbender."

"Why not?"

"Because that was his name and you're taking credit for it. It's just not fair."

"You mean like plagiarism?"

"No, I'm not talking about a contagious disease!"

"…That's called a _plague._ _Plagiarism_ is copying another person's work completely, word for word, without recognition of the original author or permission."

"What does starting cars have to do with copying somebody?"

"Ahh…I said _recognition. _Not _ignition._ You're not the brightest crayon in the box, are you?"

"…then what am I?"

_

* * *

_

_Okaa-sama… _

_Yes._

_What… what kind of person do you think of me as?_

_Why do you ask?_

… _Because I'd truly like to know your opinion._

_You must figure that out for yourself. But I'll give you a hint… always be true to yourself._

…

_I _**know **_it was corny, just bear with me! You're _**17**_, for God's sake! I'm running out of things to say where you won't stare at me akin to a tumor shaped in the likeness of a unicorn!_

_

* * *

_

Mimori smiled absentmindedly, and then abruptly cleared her head. "I beg your pardon?"

"_Then… what… color… crayon… am… I?""_ he slowed his speech as if talking to a five year old.

"Don't condescend me, jerk! And I don't know what color you are… you'd be something reliable. Not everybody's favorite, but something you could always count on to add to a picture instead of ruin it. Like…black. Or green. A classic." _'Unlike Ryuho… flaky jackass… he'd be macaroni colored…'_

"…You have a lot of insight on the life of crayons."

"Okay, maybe not a classic. Maybe a Class-A knucklehead." She said to herself.

"OI! I resemble that remark!"

"Yes. Yes, you do."

"And you still can't keep the name."

"Okay, goodness. What about… Kamikaze no Raiden?"

"Divine Wind of Thunder and Lightning? It's better than Airbender."

"Thanks."

Their conversation went on in this (random) vein for quite some time.

"Soooo… what's a mongoose anyway?"

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**-**

Six Months Later, HOLY

Martin Jigmar heaved a deep, slightly melodramatic breath. "The reason I have called the four of you here today is because we have a problem."

Scheris and Urizane looked at him expectantly. Ryuho looked composed as always, and Cougar was completely bored.

"Kiryu-san has left HOLD because she believes their intentions to be… less than moral. She has since allied herself with Native Alters outside the wall, namely criminal codename NP3228."

"A-are you serious!" cried Scheris. "But that makes absolutely _no_ sense… Mimori-san was **completely** devoted to her job at HOLD!"

"Yeah!" Urizane said, putting in his two cents. "Besides, her father **_pays_** for HOLD. What could have possibly possessed her to leave?"

Their commander raised a furry green eyebrow. "That is none of your concern. Your concern is to get her and NP3228 and bring them back here."

Shrugging off their concerns, the group stood at attention.

"You'll be leaving in half an hour. I want Cougar driving."

"Isn't that always the case…" mutter the redhead obstinately.

"Dismissed."

They saluted and replied in unison. "Yes, sir!"

"Ryuho…"

The boy looked up from loading up the Orangutan 520 MCDX amid ice and slush. It was a larger version of the Mongoose, designed specifically to hold Alter-Users in the way back, but was quite luxurious (for those HOLY cheapskates at any rate) in the front. He turned around.

"Yes, Scheris."

"Well, don't you think this timing is somewhat… coincidental? Mimori-san was right as rain when we saw her last—" Ryuho felt a tiny twinge of guilt at this "—and now she's teamed up with NP3228? It just doesn't make any sense! She's never been a fan of our methods, but she still did her job right. Something had to have happened to her."

"…I suppose it's plausible." He noted that Scheris was watching him carefully for any change in expression; when there was none, she turned away.

"Never mind. I guess it was just a… passing fancy of my imagination."

It was a long, tense ride to the wall, despite Urizane's best attempts to annoy people out of their misery. Ryuho was mulling guiltily over what Scheris had said. It wasn't that he hadn't thought of it; just that he had never said it out loud. It sounded so much worse that way. Scheris on the other hand, was pouting at Ryuho's distancing himself from her. Cougar was bored as hell because he didn't get to Alter the car.

When they were about to the wall, Ryuho (who was in the front with Cougar) noticed a glint of light coming from Straight's pocket, view allowed through the slit in his HOLY uniform. On more careful and discreet observation, he realized it was Mimori's crystal. His eyes narrowed at the man sitting next to him who was still looking completely disinterested, and subsequently driving with his feet propped on the steering wheel and hands behind his head. Those neon glasses covered his eyes. The teenager made a promise right then and there to keep a closer watch on the man.

'_Why did Mimori give that necklace to him? The one I gave her… '_

'_Well, obviously it meant something to her (she did wear it everyday), and she gave it to someone she cared about. Besides, didn't you tell her you only cared for her as a colleague? Why do you care if it was the one you gave her when you were both best friends, and she kept it for all these years and wore it until her disappearance?' _Said the bitchy little voice in the back of his head.

'_Wow. Thanks. Thanks a whole_** hell**_ of a lot. …On recollection, that probably wasn't very healthy…' _He vaguely registered someone calling his name.

"…uho. Ryuuuuuho….moshi moshi?" Scheris called softly into the boy's ear.

"Yes, Scheris?"

She looked at him with surprise. "Umm… you're needed for confirmation. We're at the wall."

"I apologize. I… lost myself for a moment."

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'_I was dreaming…_

_This person… this boy, no— … this man… he was trapped in the peace. He had a fighter's spirit, something that needed to be nourished, not suppressed. But he was happy for the moment. Happy during the calm before the storm…'_

Kanami Yuta rubbed her eyes blearily, shivered at the brisk winter morning, and then smiled after she realized she woke up to the smell of edible food. She bounded into the next room.

"Good morning, Mimori."

"And to you as well, Kana-chan." The nineteen year old responded in kind. For the first time in a long time, here in the Slums no less, she felt almost completely content. In the past half year she had lived with them, Mimori had grown quite close to the young girl, and formed a good friendship with Kazuma and Kunihiko. Though it had been difficult, Mimori had managed to keep both her Alter and Kazuma's a secret from Kanami. She had met Terada Ayase, but had gotten off to quite a rocky start. For some reason, she completely disliked Mimori. When Ayase had found out Mimori was living with Kazuma, she had refused to talk to him or Kimishima for a month. It had reminded her of a time when, after her father had set her up to try a sport (Rugby, something she would later come to love), she had repudiated any attempts her parents had made to talk to her.

_

* * *

_

_Kiryu Mimori! Answer me this instant!_

…

_Mimori!_

…

_You know what? Maybe I should just forbid you from your kick-boxing lessons…_

_You wouldn't _**dare**_…_

_Oh! I guess somebody outsmarted the child prodigy!_

_Sometimes I wonder if you let your inner child too much free reign._

_

* * *

_

"How does eggs and bacon sound?"

"Mmm! Where's Kazu-kun?"

"He left for a job this morning. So I guess it's just you and me at the farm, Kana-chan. If they're nice, we'll get to work inside most of the time."

Kanami stuck her tongue out. "Kumiko-san likes you best, so you probably won't have to work outside at all!"

She laughed. "Yes, so good for me, hm?" At the younger girl's indignant look, Mimori laughed again.

"C'mon. Grab your coat and scarf and we'll be on our way out!"

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Ten minutes later, they climbed the large hill up to the farm, laughing and joking. They had almost reached the top, when Kyo appeared at the peak. He was a small slender boy, with spiky ebony hair and expressive amber eyes. But now, a black eye adorned his once unmarred face. There was also a long, deep cut in his left arm, with large wooden splinters showing clearly. His tear-filled face looked at Mimori and screamed clearly,

"**_SHE'S HERE!"_**

The nineteen-year-old was on edge, every single muscle tense.

"Kanami, stay here." At that moment, if she hadn't aren't sensed the tension, the young girl realized something was wrong. Mimori never said her name without an endearment unless something was wrong.

The heiress slowly but surely scaled the steep ridge.

**

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**

**Kat: **It was somewhat intended. That's one of my favorite pairings, you know. Now, I shall return your message (tenfold) **_UPDATE! UPDATE! FOR THE LOVE OF COUGAR UPDATE!_**

**Aine of Knockaine:** I am quite a big fan of yours! And you're talking! To **_ME! _**-insert dead faint- If you do post a s.CRY.ed fic, I can't wait! Also, used some Trigun vocab... try and catch it.

**Moon&Stars:** My faithful first reviewer! Thank you so much for sticking in their... it's much appreciated.

**evilchik: **ummm... okay.

**HikariUsa: **Ohhh, you approve so far do you? Well, I'm glad I have your approval. I hope you read the Beginning of Chapter Note™... it contained some Mimori-behavioral details...


	5. Chorus of Souls

**Just a few words before we begin. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Ohohoho! Just kidding ya… ahem. Things are taking a slightly dusk-ish turn. Not quite dark yet. Hell, I don't know! You guys decide! I'm feeling slightly uninspired. I write better when I write more comedic-type things. Still, I'm determined to break the 4,000 word count! See, it's like this…**

**P: About 700**

**1: About 1,000**

**2: About 2,500**

**3: About 3,500**

**So you see, I haven't yet done a shorter chapter.

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**Wages of Sin**

**Chapter Four: Chorus of Souls

* * *

**

The heiress slowly but surely scaled the steep ridge, Kyo quickly backing away from her.

Complete devastation greeted her. Any buildings were completely demolished or almost; people everywhere had some kind of injury, ranging from a shallow cut or bruise to death. Loved ones crowded around bodies and remaining relatives, crying inconsolably, desperately.

Mimori instinctively caught the large sack thrown at her, shrieking slightly when it groaned.

"K-Kunihiko!"

She quickly freed the man of his burlap prison, gasping at the sight of him. Mimori could easily tell from the awkward position of his ribcage that there was extensive bruising, possibly breaking, and almost definitely internal bleeding. He coughed, and blood appeared, confirming her suspicions.

"Wh-what happened?" Her voice was unsteady and unfamiliar to her own ears.

"A man… an Alter-User…attacked the farm…"

"What was his alter!" His face winched tightly at the volume. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But this is important."

Kimishima managed to grin slightly. "Never thought I'd see a watermelon…do all those things…"

She chuckled slightly, albeit hysterically. "But why were you in a bag, idiot?"

"I think you have overstayed your welcome here, Mimori-san." Kyo's uncle, the one who had spoken (Kuro), was barrel-chested and tall. The once warm, kindly sparkle in his eye was replaced by a cold glint. "That Alter-User… he showed up for Kazuma… and you. Your friend here yielded no useful answers to us."

She gasped again. "I-I…that is, I apologize, but you have to realize that this is not entirely our fault! And Kimishima—"

"You're right," one woman sneered. "It was _**completely** _your fault!"

Kuro continued. "Don't come around here anymore. You, Kimishima, Kazuma, or that little girl of yours."

Mimori stood up, glaring fiercely at him, with all the viciousness one who was being threatened by former friends could muster. "Say anything you want about me, but you better damn well leave Kanami out of this." A dark cloud was gathering in her eyes… and above her head.

Shiro, Kuro's father, stepped forward. "Are you _threatening _us?"

"No," she replied coldly. "I'm _telling _you." Thunder rumbled deafeningly above her head; an ominous reverberation.

She was grateful; over the past half year, she had used to learn her power in a healing approach. Mimori glowed for a moment before a rapidly spinning wind encased Kunihiko's chest, holding his bones in place as she picked up him with difficulty. Shiro noted the absence of his house's roof (or what was left of it) angrily. She turned swiftly and walked down the hill, away from the hatred that grew within people she thought were her friends.

_

* * *

Why are people so desperate? Why do they turn against each other?_

_That's quite a weighty question. _

_Can you answer it?_

_Circumstances. Terrible, horrible circumstances drive people to desperation. Things out of their control. _

_Why can't things always be in control?

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He was inside a valley, two relatively large crags jutting out above him. Immediately, Kazuma knew something was afoot. There was a feeling, a little but adamant tug on his conscience that demanded attention. He was positive that this had been a HOLY transmission he'd picked up on the radio; so why was there no one here?

"Second Degree Criminal Codename NP3228!" shouted a male voice from high on the cliff above him. Kazuma turned around.

There he was. _HIM. _Mimori had said that she knew him, but had refused to say anything else that pertained to the teen known as Ryuhou Ryuu in anything more than a colleague-like manner. A blue-haired girl, no more than 15, stood next on his right, and a stout man with a too-small uniform holding a watermelon on Ryuhou's other side.

"We have come on several crimes committed on your behalf to apprehend you, along with your assistant, Kiryu Mimori."

"Well, I hate to burst your bubble, airhead, but I don't plan on getting arrested today." Kazuma replied, smirking.

"Then we shall have to do this the hard way." The HOLY Alter-User jumped gracefully down, landing easily on both feet.

"Shall we begin?"

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"Mimori… please… what's wrong? Why does Kimishima-kun have that…wind around him?" Kanami's voice was ever so small and frightened in her surrogate sister's ears.

"Kanami… we are going to Ayase's house… hopefully she's there. You and Kimishima are going to stay there until Kazuma and I come back, okay?" She tried her very best to make her voice encouraging and reassuring, and the child looked fractionally relieved.

"…W-why?"

"Because it is safer there." The small, dilapidated (though they couldn't talk) house was more like a cottage than anything. Cozy, but small. Again, Kazuma and company couldn't say anything. Their house was smaller and more ramshackle than Ayase and Akira's house. Mimori had carried Kunihiko on her back the entirety of the way there with some difficulty. Kanami knocked the door.

Before anyone could answer, Mimori kicked the door open with her foot, almost loosing her balance in the process.

Ayase, who was sitting on a grey couch in plain view of the door, was now splendidly pissed off.

"Look you! I don't know who th— Hey! You can't just barge in here without permission and—"

"Would you just be quiet for a_ moment_? **_Please_**! You need to take care of them, Ayase. Kimishima's injured; and I can't take Kanami where I'm going." Mimori told her gravely.

"I told you before! This is my house and I—"

The other girl continued to rant. An idea came to the elder of the two.

"Well, then I guess Kazuma is going to be disappointed. He is the one who asked me—but then again, if you don't want t—"

Ayase looked at Kimishima begrudgingly. "…I suppose."

Akira smiled at Kanami. "Looks like you're stuck with me and Sis. See you later, Mimori-san!"

As she was sprinting out the door, she barely spared him a glance.

_

* * *

You're in such a hurry, aijou._

_I've got things to do, kaa-chan!_

_Oh yes? Such as…?_

_Save my friends from certain death by spork!_

_No more comic books.

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"You know, I don't think I've met a bigger moron in my life," said Kazuma with a smirk. Ryuhou's eyes narrowed.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. The first thing you did was take me too lightly. Then you underestimated Mimori." The other man's face, if possible, grew colder at the mention of her name. "_That_ was the dumbest thing I've heard in awhile!"

"Kiryu-san has had an Alter for only a half a year, in which time it would be impossible to master."

"You really didn't your homework, didya?" Kazuma continued to grin. "When that idiot gave her his Alter, he passed on all his moves too. Not to mention some of his attitudes and a few strong memories.

"So. As a warning. When she finds you… don't expect Mimori to be the same researcher you're used to. Your friends up there are both for her."

Still on the precipice, Scheris turned to Urizane. "Mimori-san's an Alter-User! But that's impossible!"

"Yeah! What's Ryuhou goin' on about?"

No one seemed to notice the sky darken considerably quickly. In fact, no one _did _notice until the portentous growl of thunder was heard, preceded by a flare of lightning.

"You see? She's already on her way here."

Far on the horizon, a long figure was seen streaking over, fast as light. Or lightning. On close inspection, Ryuhou saw the tell-tale glow of her body (for it was undoubtedly a woman, if not Mimori). This storm was most definitely her doing. But Commander Jigmar had clearly indicated that anything he had seen from the girl's alter was extremely low, a C- Class at best. But this storm… it was huge. And dangerous. And looked as if a tornado or (better yet) a hurricane could develop at any moment from the swirling black mass that was once a perfect baby-blue sky, marred only by the occasional fluffy cloud. It was clearly a B class or better. Definitely A, if could make a hurricane. Certainly, this couldn't be the same girl with whom he'd parted ways so many months ago…

Kazuma was still sneering at him. "Do you see now? You shouldn't have pissed us off… both of us _hate _you, **_Ryu-kun_**."

"Ryu-kun's" face suddenly contorted into a snarl. "Don't speak as if you're a_ team, _you_ **bastard**_! She is _nothing_ like you!"

"Oh! Then I guess she's like **_you_**, then! _Lucky Mimori_!"

"_Don't. Say. Her. **NAME**_" Ryuhou tried desperately to contain his temper. "You are simply unworthy to speak her name. Don't do it again." He couldn't keep the edge from his voice. His rival sensed his distress, and simply riled him more. Suddenly it was pouring rain.

"You mean the name _Mimori_? Well, good friends usually talk about the other one in a friendly way. You know, a first-name basis? _Mimori_ calls me Kazuma. Me and _Mimori_­—"

"**_ZETSUEI!_"**

"**Shocking-First-_BULLET_!"**

And then it was on.

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She couldn't stop. She had to push herself, and find that Alter-User… because it was his fault. His fault Kanami was banned from the farm, when it had nothing to do with her. The reason Kimishima was nearly beaten to death. The reason several people, including two children, were dead.

Mimori was pissed off. _That son of a bitch and the rest of those self-important HOLY blowhards are going to pay for this… it will be nice to watch him d—_

She stopped herself right there. Mimori found Shougou's "Kill All Forms of Government" Policy quite frustrating at times, particularly when battling HOLY/HOLD. It had gotten better, but Saotome's violent tendencies had her on the rocks. His conscience was slowly being swallowed by her own, but it refused to leave without a fight.

Mimori winced when another mantra of "Kill those motherfucking HOLY sons of –" etc. etc. entered her head.

'_Everyone should be treated equally… no matter Inner or otherwise, Alter-User or human, male or female… no one should be treated with any less care than the others.'_

It was her thoughts, her ideals, her very person that repelled these nasty voices and decidedly gory thoughts about Urizane.

She was _finally_ here. On the opposite cliff, Mimori could clearly see Urizane's ample form. Her self-control, already in tatters, threatened to break completely.

'_That bastard…he hurt Kimishima…made the people turn against us…**but he was just doing his job…his job…**so his job is to blow up the homes of innocent people? **He had orders! It was either attack, or self-sacrifice in the form of a prison visit…** so a _penitentiary jaunt _wasn't worth the lives of those people?'_

_

* * *

You can't just go out there. Those…_things _are dangerous!_

_Alter-Users are people too! And besides, this isn't your choice to make. _

_You're only going out there to see that boy. _

_Yes, I am going to see Ryuhou…but I'm also going to help. I can truly **help** people if I work there. _

_Oh, so it's killing two birds with one stone, is it?_

_How eloquent. Yes, that's exactly it._

_You're not going! _

…

_Don't argue with me! _

…

_Mimori! Please…I just want what's best for you…_

_I don't think you know what's best for me anymore.

* * *

_

A year ago she wouldn't have believed it. Mimori had never been anything less than completely sane, if not more so: incredibly levelheaded, logical, and calm under stress of all degrees.

But now she wasn't so sure, staring at Urizane with lethal intent and contemplating forgiveness at the same time. '_I may not be as focused or powerful as Ryuhou or Kazuma… but I can sure as hell kick Urizane's ass…_'

She leapt across.

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Ryuhou and his rival watched - one in grim satisfaction, one in startled astonishment, subconscious longing and slight awe – as Mimori jumped gracefully over the ravine and landed, poised, in front of Urizane and Scheris. The rain lightened; the lightning disappeared altogether.

"Mimori-san…is it really true?" asked Scheris with hushed amazement, eyes wide as tea cups.

The older girl managed a small smile at her teenager-y antics. "Yes. I am an Alter-User."

"It's impossible!" declared Urizane stoutly. "You _can't_ be an Alter-User!"

"That," she answered coolly, "Is not why I'm here. Did you attack that village?"

He looked directly into her eyes. "Yes. But if you hadn't have escaped, I never would've had to," he answered, playing off her guilt. "It's your fault. Yours and Cougars."

"So you figured it out, did you?"

"We can put two and two together."

"That's very good to know." Suddenly, it was pouring again. Mimori looked very… _blank_. "You'll never catch him, you know."

"We don't have to," said Urizane with a nasty grin.

She didn't particularly like that cryptic comment, but chose to ignore it. "Scheris-san, feel free to leave. I have no problem with you."

The girl looked remarkably condescending. It was the one thing she couldn't stand about the girl; she always assumed Mimori knew nothing about Alters, or Ryuhou. _Especially_ Ryuhou. Always assumed that, because of her Alter, she had some sort of one-up on Mimori. That _really_ pissed her off.

"This is my job, Mimori-san. I'm afraid you asking will do nothing to change that."

"As you wish…"

The sky was black and purple and restless again, lightning flashes following the thunder in a macabre metaphor to Urizane's fate. The thunder was the farm being attacked, and the lightning was the consequence of that attack.

Within a few seconds, Scheris was soaring over the edge of the cliff, unconscious and looking battered. Kazuma paid no mind, and Ryuhou spared her a glance. She was cushioned by a watermelon net. The two resumed.

"Look, Kiryu-san, just come with me and nobody gets hurt, alright?" said Urizane with feigned calm. He definitely looked wary now.

"I think you're quite mistaken. Several people – MANY people – have already been hurt… or don't you remember attacking the farm? Or Scheris falling over the edge of that cliff? You're a fool, Urizane. A damn fool." She said to him, face calm. The wind picked up around her feet, swirling her hair and clothes. A lightning bolt shot down near her, but closer to Urizane. He looked dour but unafraid, a watermelon grasped tightly in his hand.

"You're on, Kiryu."

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Kazuma breathed harshly, drawing in huge gulps of air. That last attack had knocked him right into the rock face and obviously bruised his ribs. Ryuhou wasn't much better though; his legs were in bad shape, and his shoulder was dislocated. He grinned in that cocksure way that completely infuriated the HOLY employee and asked snidely if he'd had enough.

"Not on your life."

The limber brunette catapulted himself into the air, twisting around and screaming "**Annihilating-Last-_Bullet_!**"

Ryuhou dodged, not as easily as he might have earlier, but nonetheless, he managed. Kazuma hit the already unstable ground with a resounding explosion. With a huge, shuddering motion, the land within a twenty-foot diameter of contact fell in on itself. The last thing Ryuhou remembered was falling quickly and getting struck in the back of the head with something solid and rocklike… either an actual rock, or Kazuma's head, he thought with bitter humor. He bid the world a "Screw this!" and fell into the black abyss that was unconsciousness.

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**-**

"**HIRAISHIN!" **she shouted. A singular lightning bolt crashed down where the HOLY dog had been a few seconds before. It rebounded off the ground, dirt not being a sufficient conductor, in all directions. **_"HIRAISHIN!" _**

Mimori was having trouble dealing with Urizane.

The problem was, he just wasn't staying put. She didn't want to hit him with a bolt of lightning - it was inhumane and horrible to watch someone be electrocuted to death, even more so when you were the electro cuter – so she had just fought him like a human, except with the power of the weather at her back. The fact of the matter was, with him teleporting all over the place, it wasn't easy. In fact, it was difficult. But Mimori was sure that, if she did get him, _could_ get to him, he would really suffer.

**"_PATTO RAKURAINIAU!_"** Several bolts pinpointed where he had been.

She glowered as he transported himself directly behind her. "You won't get away this time," she vowed to herself. Spinning in the air mid-punch, a mini-tornado encased her right arm.

_**"Gufuu-DAGEKI!" **_

Grinning, Mimori saw the distance between them closing – she was almost there – so close she could almost taste it - !

Her fist plowed right through him, emerging covered in a pink substance that definitely wasn't flesh, but…

'_Watermelon… oh sh – '_

The exploding fruit hit her in the back before she could complete the thought and right after she tumbled over the cliff into the rapidly expanding crater that was quickly but most assuredly becoming a hole in the ground.

_

* * *

Did you hear about that explosion, aijou?_

_Which one and in what country?_

_I'm very sorry you had to ask me that._

…

_Mimori?_

…_Me too.

* * *

_

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Ryuhou woke what seemed to be a long while later, though he couldn't possibly tell. He sat up quickly and bit down a groan; it seemed he had a mild concussion. Blinking in the muted light, he looked around. All around there were rocks. Not a heartening sign, especially to a concussed Alter-User in unknown territory. But then Ryuhou realized that the dim light was coming from a small break in the seemingly impenetrable rock wall. He crawled slowly over and peered through it.

The walls of the cave in there were glowing brightly with some strange growth; it looked like a type of fungi, probably a species of mushroom. Lying in the center was an unconscious Mimori.

He felt the sudden need to get to the other room. Ryuhou pushed himself up and glanced at the hole. He was slender, but not _that_ slender; he would never be able to fit through that thing. He looked up at the rest of the wall. If he moved any rocks, it could cave in. But that seemed unlikely: they were so tightly packed, and where else did they have to go?

Ryuhou began to dig.

_

* * *

Up up up, you silly girl. We have so much to do today!_

…_Y-y-yesss, moth-h-e-r…_

_Stop yawning and get up. It's your birthday remember? We're going…to New York!_

_Really!_

_Suddenly you seem wide awake._

_We're going!_

_Are you feeling all right, aijou?_

_MOTHER!_

_Yes, yes, we're going! I did tell you for a birthday we'd go to New York and see a musical, didn't I? You'd better start packing._

_Okay! I'll be downstairs in a few minutes._

_One last thing, aijou. Wake up._

…_Huh?_

_Mimori, wake up.

* * *

_

"Wake up…_please_…" a voice pleaded with her.

The 18-year-old moaned. Her back was killing her. Almost literally. Mimori felt the giant, bleeding gash from where the bomb had exploded very near her. Forcing her eyes open, she shut them quickly at what appeared to her to be bright light, and blinked them open very slowly again.

Ryuhou was leaning over her, crimson eyes looking worried, but at the same time, dazed. With shock or pain, she didn't know, though it was probably a combination of the two. _'That explains why he's worried…'_ she thought sourly.

"Ryu-hou…" she gritted out. "Do you know where we are?"

"I have no idea." He glanced around. "Upon further inspection, I'd surmise this cave is actually an old building."

She nodded and sat up; wincing was she peeled her bloodied back away from the stone cold floor. Mimori looked at him for a moment. All of their present issues with each other were forgotten as they focused on one thing: survival.

Ryuhou slowly stood and walked around so he was facing her back. "I'm going to take a look at this wound, all right?"

Mimori nodded in assent, even as a knot of apprehension formed in her gut. She sensed something was going to happen; he was going to say those fatal words….

"So… why did you run?"

And their conversation – several years in the making – began…

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Straight Cougar grimaced at what felt like a killer migraine. The last thing he recalled was… was… Urizane. Yes. They were driving in a van to find Kazuma and Mimori. He remembered they were awfully close to the Alter Forest. The portly Alter-User had offered him and Scheris something to drink…something, he had realized soon after drinking, that was laced with some sort of poison or drug, because the next thing he knew, he was unconscious.

And now he was… where?

He opened his eyes immediately to assess and found himself looking into the blinking orbs of a –

"_**WOLF!"

* * *

**_

DAMN! Only equal to the last chapter...BUT NEVER FEAR! There's always chapter five.

Speaking of: Chapter Five: A Conversation to End All Conversations... DUN DUN DUUUN! Stay tuned, folks...

**hiraishin:** lightning rod.  
**Patto rakurainiau: **to be struck by a bolt of lightning.  
**Gufuu:** tornado; **dageki: **strike.

_**Review Responses:**_

**some person: **Yep, I've given Ayase a little crush on Kazuma. It's very helpful to Mimori in this chapter, as you can see. Sorry to say this is not a Mimori/Kazuma pairing, but i'm currently working on one of those, 'kay?

**Skye: **Assuming you are the Skye from _Tango_ and _Celestine_**, THANK YOU SO MUCH! HUGGLES ALL AROUND!**

**MiraResQNU: **I love your story! I have just discovered it recently, as I have been on a month-long vacation...but I LOVE IT! Well, chicks are always getting the "Damsel in Distress" bits in anime, so I just gotta have them kick some ass, ya know? Especially Mimori!

**aNiMe-AzN-aNgEl:** That was really sweet!_(grins)_ Kazuma. Isn't that who she usually dreams about? I don't know... Hey, thanks anyway though!

**Anime addicted:** Yeah, overexposure will do that to you. I'm glad you think the plot is different - I hate when people keep reusing the same thing.

**xsnowboarderx:** I hate that when chapters are REALLLY short! Yeah, I know what you mean about Cougar. I'm leaving other pairing options to your imagination! Aren't I soooo evil?

**Darth Snuggles:** AN E-KITTY! OMG! All of my dreams have been fulfilled!

**Moon&Stars: **Yes well, the OOC-ness is explained here. Thank you for reviewing! I've already resolved to answer all of your reviews with an actual response, since you were the first. Stay tuned...

**Moo-chan: **You were the one who got it! I'm so proud! All I'm going to tell you is that it's not Mimori/Cougar. If I gave you any other clues...it might give it away. Spelling/grammar: some people really neglect it, but it totally adds to the story! Some of the things I've read...(shudder violently)

**des: **I shall leave you in the dark for now... te he he...

**Aine of Knockaine: **An e-kitty for you! Yes, Cougar was eating at the Akabeko. Yes, it's a great story!

**Thanks to: **_seiko123, moondagger666, Kokoro Mizu no Kaze, beutiful one 34, fallen angel21, gothic-ember, kitsune-cub, Kage428, Miss Da Qiao, evilchick, loyalsoul, _and_ jmika89! And also to anyone else who reviewed and I missed...SORRY!_


	6. The Importance of SelfDiscovery

_Let's get this straight... there are going to be NO mushy, lovey-dovey, "OH, I forgive you for all the shit you've done, darling Ryuhou" or "I've been so dumb for acting like a cold jackass, Mimori-pooky" or "Let's make out!" or any of that. They are coming to terms with what happened. Mimori's memory during this particular period in the story may hint at romantic... stuff, but there will be no actual, physical (blush blush) stuff. Savvy?_

_Well, this took awhile. Definitely not as long as I wanted it to be... but are they ever, right? _

**

* * *

Wages of Sin**

**Chapter Five**

**The Value of Self-Discovery

* * *

**

"Why do you think I ran, Ryuhou? Do you think I _enjoyed_ being poked and prodded and tortured on that damn Machine?"

He halted in his dutiful wound cleaning. "I...didn't know they put you on the Machine."

"Well, you know now, don't you?" she answered, trying to be sharp and failing miserably. "I have a question for _you_."

"Mhm."

"Why did you keep it a secret?"

Ryuhou hesitated again. "I didn't think we'd be keeping you locked up for so long. I had assumed that the Commander –" Mimori stifled a disgusted snort here. "– would finish all tests, then break the news to your father and HOLY quietly."

"And I might've waited, too, if I'd have known that and I wasn't on... it." She replied softly.

"It's my turn then. Are you really... _friends_ with Kazuma?" Ryuhou could not hide the loathing in his voice, though he made an effort. Negative questions spawned negative answers and attitude.

Mimori smiled then. "Yes, Kazuma is my friend. Living with someone for six months will do that to you. But he is only my friend, and nothing else."

"I didn't think he was anything but your friend."

"Liar. You didn't think he was my friend at all."

"Hn." He tried to hide his surprise at her observation: he didn't think they were friends, he thought they were something more.

"Did you miss me? Or did you only care because it was your job to collect rogue Alter-Users?"

'_Of course I missed you, you stupid girl.' _ But should he tell _her_ that? Ryuhou considered for a moment. Lying had never been his forte, and in this particular situation, honesty seemed to be the best policy. "... Yes. Why in the world did you think I kept asking you to return to the Mainland?"

He could feel the surprise radiating off of her. At his answer or whether he had actually told the truth he couldn't tell. "Do you hate me?"

Mimori sucked in a gasp. "... No. I was just extremely upset at the time." Her tone became hard again. "I still haven't forgiven you yet, though. What you said is almost inexcusable and your attitude toward me has been less than hospitable."

"I'll admit to it. But you know I have reasons." Ryuhou took off his jacket and tore what was left of it into long, thin pieces, which he began to wrap around her torso.

"As a matter of fact, I do know you have your reasons. For one, your burning obsession for a guy you know nothing about personally." Was her sarcastic answer. "Yes, I've heard about it. If it's any consolation, he has a burning obsession over you, too." Ryuhou was silent. Mimori left the part about his mother's death unvoiced. A wise thought on her part, she liked to believe.

"Do you care for me as more than just a colleague?"

"Mimori...-san...you were the first real friend I ever had, barring Zetsuei. Despite the way I act, yes, I care for you as more than a colleague."

"I'm sorry I asked," she said suddenly. "I just needed to know. It was a matter of pride."_'Oh yeah. Matter of pride, my ass. Riiiiight.' _She berated herself silently. _'Stupid Mimori. Stupid Ryuhou. Stupid question.' _She contemplated adding "Stupid Kazuma" (on the justification that it fit in the category), but decided against it.

He patted her back lightly, and admired his handiwork for a moment. "Why did you give Cougar your necklace?" She visually started at this.

"He told you?"

"No. I saw it in his pocket."

"Oh. I gave it to him as a gesture of... _camaraderie_ before he dropped me off here. He gave me a ring that "belonged to someone special", he said." She looked curiously at him. "Why do you care?"

"It was a "matter of pride"," he said with a small smirk as she turned around to face him. "I made the necklace, you know." Mimori threw him a glance that clearly said, _"Ha ha ha. You're soooo funny." _A long, uncomfortable silence followed their conversation before Ryuhou stood up. "We should really try to find our way out of here." He said quietly, extending a hand, but looking away from her.

_What a hero,_ she thought cynically. _Can't even look me in the face._

_

* * *

Kaa-san, did you have a-a ...knight in shining armor? _

_...Yes. _

_What happened? _

_When I first met him, we were both kids. But when we were both eleven, we got separated. However, we met back up in college. We immediately got back together. He was handsome, captain of the kendo team, and very sweet._

_Was it daddy?_

_No, now let me finish. I dropped him after a while, and I found a bumbling boy instead._

_**That **was daddy._

_Yes. Men worth having aren't very good with feelings, honey.

* * *

_

She placed her now-calloused hand into his and allowed him a small smile, which he returned with a raised eyebrow. Turning away from him, Mimori quickly assessed the situation as Ryuho attempted to follow along.

"We have to be careful, because this ground is obviously very unstable... thank for that, by the way. On the bright side, I do look over maps of Old Tokyo quite often. Frankly, it's interesting, and very useful... but back on point. If we are still near where we were when we first fell in here, then we are probably in what was a very industrialized area."

"So?" He asked, slightly impatient. "What's that got to –"

"In addition," she cut him off, "If we judge by the dirt quality here, that definitely confirms that we are in a once-populated area... the ground here is very unnatural, as compared to more rural areas. It's getting better, being people-less for two decades and all that, but it's still very easy to tell. Our best bet is to find a tunnel formed from the remains of the other buildings, but even that has the possibility of being very dangerous." Sighing, she looked at him. "So, what are we going to do?"

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"_**What are we going to do!**_"

Scheris was absolutely, positively, certifiably, without-a-doubt in a complete rage. Ryuho was missing – after being knocked out by _Kazuma_, of all things (how could he? Ryuho was so much more powerful...) – and Kiryu-san was an alter-user, and... something else... _Cougar! That's what I forgot..._

Externally, however, she kept a steady glare on Urizane. "You're up to no good, you _traitor_! You probably planned this whole thing, didn't you! Ryuho getting his ass handed to him on silver platter – courtesy that boar of Alter-User, _Kazuma_ – and probably Mimori running away from HOLY! And you _drugged _me, you rat!"

"Scheris, wa - !"

"And COUGAR! He's _missing_! Did you kill him?" she shouted, blue eyes looking into Urizane's small brown ones. The difference was, her viridian orbs were shining with tears, and not marred with the guilt Urizane's were.

"Back off for just a second, would ya! I can barely talk with your hands around my throat!"

"FINE! Don't try anything, or I will make you regret it!" She huffed at him. Crossing her arms over her chest, she continued her scowl with a passion reserved only for those she loathed most - her father... and, currently, this man.

Urizane sighed. "All right," he said, sitting on the ground Indian-style. A watermelon was gripped, carefully and nervously, in the crook of his left arm.

"I didn't plan the Ryuho-Kazuma face off – you know yourself that was unavoidable, we all did, both of them bein' as stubborn as they are! I didn't know Kiryu-san was an alter-user either, alright! So don't even think I had anything to do with that!"

"Well about drugging Cougar and I, then?" She asked angrily. "Trying to get out of taking responsibility for _that_, are you!"

Finally driven past his patience, Urizane glared right back. "Look little missy, you better just calm yourself and let me explain!"

Her eyes stayed narrow, and her mouth stayed compressed in a small, thin line, but she nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Yes, I did give you and Cougar both some stuff to knock ya out. But those were the Commander's orders."

"Were his orders also for us to "lose" Cougar?" She asked, quiet fury building in her face.

Urizane looked away, studying the ground intently.

"Y-you... just threw him out! Just like that! H-how could you...why did...he w-was as much a part of HOLY as you or me! He was your teammate! That was... utterly selfish of you!" She said, looking at him incredulously.

"There wasn't any choice, Scheris. I had orders from Commander Jigmar to drop the Alter-User of Radical Good Speed."

"B-but –"

"Isn't that the reason you follow Ryuho around like a puppy? He's so committed..." spat Urizane bitterly.

Scheris looked at him in a new light, as if wondering why she hadn't realized Urizane had feelings like these before now. "Urizane..."

"You may not understand why I follow Commander's orders without question, but I do. I always have an' I always will. That's just the way it is." He said quietly. "And what do you think Ryuhou woulda done? Gone against Jigmar? Please. No, he woulda done exactly as asked."

Scheris felt ashamed of herself. She had been so wrapped up in Ryuho that she had forgotten the other people around her. People she could be hurting. Ryuho wasn't the only one in the world who existed – other people had feelings too, and depth. She felt completely repulsed at her own selfishness – and a little bit of disappointment. Her vision of her not-really-lover as pure and completely flawless in all ways was shattered. _I guess he wasn't as perfect I thought he was._ "I apologize, Urizane. I understand that you had to do what you had to do. I shouldn't have said that."

Her older sister had said something once...

**There are three traits I can't stand in a person. Hypocrisy, being judgmental, and blind faith. So I guess somebody who gets to know others before assessing them, observes their own actions before others', and keeps an awareness of their surroundings about them would be a good person to me.**

She had been or done all of those things. _What would Callie do?_

"Yea, yea," he answered gruffly. "We all got our own things to do, anyway. We should keep lookin' for Ryuho."

"Right." She answered, a new determination in her eyes.

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From birth, Straight Cougar had been completely unlucky. This was the only reason one could surmise for the current situation. There never was a father in the picture... his mother died when he was ten. Then he got pinned with that Kazuma brat... everyone knows how that turned out. After that, he started working at HOLY. And now this. Stranded here – in the viper's nest of the Lost Ground. Or rather, the _wolf's den_ of the lost ground.

After wakening from his unconscious state, he had found himself staring into the feral yellow orbs of an Altered wolf. In fact, there had been a whole pack of them surrounding him in a circle when he had woken up. So far, they hadn't moved an inch. Except for the one – it had backed off after about ten minutes of just staring. It was now positioned about a good meter away from him, but refused to stop looking. It mystified him, but at the same time, he felt excitement curl in the pit of his stomach. Nobody had ever gone into the Alter Forest and lived to tell the tale. He was doing so now. But why were they crowding around him in the first place?

In fact, he couldn't hear any sign of other life in the forest. Glancing around the trees, he saw several exotic-looking birds gazing at him with the same intensity the wolf pack was. There were Altered forest animals all about, looking at him. Just as it was starting to creep him out (just a bit), something strange happened.

Something akin to a _spirit _washed over him; something that tugged playfully on the very edge of his mind. He suddenly felt as if he could just stay right in that spot forever; nothing else mattered anymore. It would never make any difference if he never left this one spot, and he really didn't want to anyway. Nope, absolutely nothing could move him... Straight Cougar would just drift there forever... free of all the troubles of humans and Alter-Users... a peaceful, undisturbed entity... never moving... an uncultured mass... just _sitting_ there, of all the fool things to do...

...Why was he here again?

_Wait... I don't want this! _

Panic began to creep over his system. Something was wrong, very wrong. And that was the point when he started sprinting, Alter in full-tilt, as far away from the Alter Forest as he could get.

All at once, the animals weren't as hospitable as before. They _had _surrounded him on all sides – and now they were _attacking_ him from all sides, Alters out and ready. As if controlled by a singular force, they worked together – when he would deflect one attack, another was coming right at him, and from the directly opposite side. But still... a bunch of forest mongrels were no match for Straight Cougar, and once he got Radical Good Speed going, he was like the wind – unattainable. Nothing could touch him. One couldn't catch wind, after all.

He was nearly twelve kilometers away before he felt safe enough to stop. Breathing just slightly harder than normally, he looked up and around to see if he recognized any territory. There was a small, ramshackle village just a little ways off, he could see. Radical Good Speed dissolved into the air as he began to walk toward it and plan. There, he could get directions...

To wherever the hell he was going.

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_What am I going to do with that idiot... he can't keep running off on me! _thought Kanami, with all the ferociousness a soon-to-be-nine-year-old could muster, glaring at the frayed sleeve of her over-sized orange shirt. It kept drooping into the soapy dishwater.

The only real reason she was angry was that she was trying to distract herself. She couldn't bear thinking about where Mi-chan had gone, as serious as she was when she left. And Kazu-kun... he was _always _in some kind of trouble, the idiot.

"Hey, Kanami... I'm sure that whatever the soap did, it didn't deserve that." commented a teasing voice from just beyond the kitchen door.

Kanami blushed at herself; she had gripped the white bar with her fingernails to the point of pain. Kimishima was on the couch, grinning tiredly at her. However well he sounded, his injures weren't fully healed, and she told him so. "Don't worry so much!" he said with laughter in his voice but not in his eyes. _His chest still hurts_, thought Kanami with a frown. "You should lie back down! If Ayase-san was here, she'd blow a gasket for sure!"

He laughed for real this time. "'Blow a gasket'?" She blushed and muttered something about the woman who ran the farm.

"Hey, hey! Don't take it so hard, Kanami-chan! I mean –" Kunihiko paused and his eyes slid towards the door.

"Do you think its Ayase-san?" She asked quietly. The Lost Ground taught you caution. "Would she knock?" He replied, equally soft.

She shrugged and answered it anyway.

_Whatever happens, happens. _

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Kazuma gritted his teeth against the harsh wind that casually swept over his injuries. _Damn it to hell... Mimori couldn't handle those HOLY bastards and now **he's **missing... what am I gonna do!_

The grooves around his eyes deepened as he scowled even more intensely. Slush and mud were beginning to gather along his feet as he trudged along. It was slowing him down. Everything was so _slow._ Suddenly, his face lightened (just a little bit, he would argue, and against his will) as he spotted two figures in the distance. Another sign of life was definitely appreciated. They seemed to be digging through a pile of upturned dirt, a stark contract to the snow surrounding it.

Slowly, very slowly, his smile began to fade as he recognized the people digging not but a few short yards away.

* * *

Well, that took just about forever, hm? And wow, only one flashback... ah well! 

About Scheris, well, I'm not really going into any depth with that... at least not in this story. But...I smell a spin-off!

** death88:** Thank you! I do know what you mean. I was looking back over the first couple chapters like, "I actually wrote that!" Seriously though, thank you for the review.

**HikariUsa: ** Sorry you couldn't find this story... it's so great and everything... just kidding! XD!

**some person:** Don't we all just love those burning questions? Haha, well I hope this brings more!

**kagome1316:** _(blushes) _Well, thanks a lot! You guys are way too nice to lil ol' me!

**Moon&Stars: **Yes, I fear my updates are few and far between, sob sob, sniff sniff and all that... but like I said before, you are my very first reviewer, and I will always comment just for you! (You'll have to excuse me, I'm getting a little sentimental...)

**thunder sister:** Don't ya just love cliff-hangers! Well, I didn't meet the end of week mark... sorry about that.

**Moo-chan: ** Not that dramatic - I mean, it is a pretty great story... with a wonderful author... who inserted herself into the fic, because that's Mimori's actual identity... and all of the male characters fall in love with her... and -

Dear God... They're _here_!

Ugh, I can't stand Mary-Sues... it seems like you nip one in the bud, and ten more just pop up. Is there anything I like more than an angsty-Ryuhou? I mean, it's just not the same with Kazuma... And yes, a side-order of brooding is required!

(_Subliminal Message: _Reckless Fire Flamethrowers... for that really terrible Mary Sue. Buy one now!)

**evilchik: **Well, I've updated... sadly, I don't think another one's coming for a while... Maybe if you'd review again (nudge nudge, wink wink...)


	7. Reduce, Reuse, Recover

_**Wages of Sin **_

**Chapter Six:**_**  
**_

_Reduce, Reuse, Recover_

_**

* * *

**_

At HOLY, Two Days Prior

"Jigmar, we have put up with your games for long enough. You need to give us answers, right now. How do you plan to control the growing Alter-User population? How do you expect to track them all and keep the people of the City safe at the same time?" demanded a Lost Ground Council member. The stout, bespectacled man was ruddy-skinned enough to rival a tomato.

"Asanagi-sama, as you know, with the defection of four prominent HOLY members – Ryuu Ryuhou, Adjani Scheris, Urizane, and Straight Cougar – we are currently in a bit of situation as to what to do." Though he kept his face blank, he was seething inwardly. _Their defection was forced, and they don't even know about it. Damn that Mujo. _

The loss of his son had hit Ryuu Tairen quite hard. He had refused to take part in any more affairs regarding Alters, and that included the funding of HOLY. In addition, the green-haired teenager was a veritable Alter powerhouse and a smart one, a difficult asset to lose in any sense. Urizane's loss, as he was Elian's unofficial guardian, had been taken rather hard by the blue-haired boy; not to mention his Alter power was one of the most versatile and useful in a bind. Scheris, though her Alter could only be used in very rare circumstances, was something of a motivator for the rest of the jaded HOLY crew with her cheery attitude. And Cougar... though seemingly rude, unattached, and completely unreliable at first, always came through when his need was the most. Truly, the loss of those Users was detrimental to HOLY both physically and mentally.

"Well, what say you, Jigmar?" asked Asanagi, tapping his fingers impatiently on the long, rectangular table.

"I happen to have a plan," responded the Commander of HOLY coolly. _Or at least Mujo does._

"We shall commence with the Great Alter Hunt!"

-  
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-

Ryuhou and Mimori had lucked out, in the sense that they weren't in as deep a pile of shit as they had originally thought.

But who were they to complain?

Ryuhou and Mimori needed all the luck they could get at the moment. Being trapped underground with no food, water, or other supplies tended to require that of a person.

After tentatively digging, they found themselves on floor two of the former healthcare center Ingou Housho Memorial Hospital, as read by Ryuhou (there were several signs on the walls around them; this particular wing of floor two had been designated for cancer research.) Mimori had then pointed out that their best bet was to go for an elevator or staircase, as it would lead up.

The two proceeded with utmost caution down the long corridor, as the slightest movement could potentially cause a catastrophic reaction. Mimori was having difficulties walking because of her back injury and every movement she made was one that was filled with pain. The white tile beneath their feet clicked ever so slightly with every step; their silences reverberated painfully off the once-white walls of the hospital, and Mimori nearly cringed when Ryuhou quietly asked if she was alright.

When they finally reached the elevator, Ryuhou gently pried the rusted, dirty doors open. Or tried to. The force he had to exert on the pair of doors made them clang loudly when they finally gave way. Mimori actually did wince this time.

"_Zetsuei,_" said the HOLY member quietly. The white, semi-humanoid shape appeared before the two, disturbing the air around them while Ryuhou glowed all the colors of the rainbow. The blue-purple tentacles shot upward through the shaft, not halting for a good twenty feet. A little clump of dirt fell from where Zetsuei had pierced the ground above. A little light poked through the hole, along with some slush.

_Joy,_ thought Mimori with a grimace. _How are we going to get up there?_

Suddenly, Zetsuei's tentacle had effectively forced them together, their fronts touching in a rather intimate manner. He didn't seem to notice it, despite the fact that Mimori was hypersensitive of the fact.

"Hold on." he ordered softly.

_

* * *

W-why d-did T-tomoe have to g-go? She w-wasn't ev-ven eighteen..._

_Sweetie, your cousin knew that her boyfriend was drunk. She never should've gotten into the car with him. _

_I k-know, but that d-doesn't m-make it fair!_

_And who said life was fair? Sometimes, all you can do is hold on and hope for the best.

* * *

_

"I didn't know you were so forward, Ryuu-san," said Mimori with a little smirk, obviously having caught onto his plan. With his head turned away, she couldn't see the blush on his cheeks (which would have been absolutely priceless), but the slight pinkness of his ears said it all. "You know what I mean." He muttered, slightly sullen. Mimori hoped he couldn't hear her stifled giggle.

As Zetsuei lifted them into the air, both couldn't help but notice how close they were.

-  
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-

Scheris grimaced at her hands. The dirt that covered them made her cringe, but she sighed and continued on. Shuffling a little farther to the right, she fixed a wary stare on the man next to her. A shovel made out of watermelon was in his hands and he was digging diligently. Urizane caught her awkward gaze with a sigh. "Yes, Scheris...-san?" he added at her glare.

"Nothing," she muttered and turned away.

He sighed again and continued to dig. However, something caught his eye. "Hey... what's that?"

"Seriously Urizane, if this is a nefarious plot or something, I am SO in the mood the kick you ass." threatened the blunette scarily.

"No, just look." He insisted. "I think it's a person."

Sighing, Scheris looked up and squinted to make out a certain figure. "Yeah, I think you're right." She grumbled, not without a small (VERY small) bit of approval. It was very small, just to reiterate. Urizane grinned a half grin before nodding his thanks. "Wonder if they're friend or foe," he asked, slightly poetic. The girl rolled her eyes; Ryuhou used old-fashioned phrases like that all the time. Scheris sincerely waited for the day when he would say "Oh, my stars and garters."

"I have no idea, but he does look kind of familiar." She said, obviously trying to connect the man with an image and a personality in her head. "Is he – no way, couldn't be... NP3228!"

Urizane groaned. "No way! Just our luck."

"Tell me about it." Looking at each other warily, they tried to decide: fight or flight.

On one hand, it would be going against direct orders from Commander Jigmar to back out of a potential capturing of NP3228. Also, being known as cowards didn't appeal to either of them. However, as far as they knew, the only one who could possibly rival Kazuma was Ryuhou, and neither of them was anywhere near his level of skill.

_There's gotta be a way outta this without me and Urizane getting killed! _Thought Scheris, panicked. _There's always the slim chance he'll listen to reason. If we run now, he'll probably follow us; but if we fight now, he'll probably beat us at best or completely annihilate us at worst. Our only option is to negotiate. _

"Hey Melon Boy, we have to wager with him. Make him an offer he can't refuse." whispered Scheris hurriedly.

He nodded but didn't say anything at first. But then: "How about the chance to fight with Ryuhou again? We can say that, in exchange to help us dig and find our friend, Ryuhou, he'll finish his fight with Ryuhou and find his friend, Kiryu-san."

Scheris frowned. "But what if Ryuhou isn't in any condition to fight? What if he's injured or unconscious?"

"From what I've seen of this Ka-zu-ma, I don't think he would do that. He'll only get true satisfaction from beating Ryuhou if he does it when Ryuhou is at the same level of power he is. Otherwise, it would be a hollow, pointless victory."

She stared at him, and then nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, that makes sense in a way." Scheris paused momentarily. "Um... do you think we should call out to him or just wait?"

She didn't have to decide, however. The dark-haired man in front of them did it himself. "Hey! You HOLY bastards! You better tell me where that cold-blooded jackass is, or else!" Urizane immediately bristled, but Scheris stepped in before anything could escalate.

"NP3 – er, Kazuma-san, we have an offer for you." She called out hesitantly, as if afraid to offend him. The man's hackles rose in a snarl. "I don't want anything from HOLY!"

"How about finishing your fight with Ryuhou?" That made him pause. "You help us find Kiryu-san and Ryuhou, you can settle the score."

Kazuma hesitated, still scowling. He could beat these two (there was no doubt in his mind he could) and dig for hours looking for Mimori and possibly That Jackass, or he could accept the help of HOLY and find them a lot quicker.

What had Mimori said about common sense?

_

* * *

Kazuma, you are an idiot. _

_WHAT! _

_You heard me. You know what?_

_What, you stupid bit – _

_You need to employ a little COMMON SENSE. Those little tidbits of knowledge that keep people from doing stupid things. _

_Like don't put your hand on a stove when it's hot? _

_Somebody give the man a medal…

* * *

_

_Oh yeah_. He thought. _Sometimes you gotta even the odds when the fight isn't fair. I guess… this way, I'll find them faster and beat Ryuhou faster. _He grinned to himself.

"Fine." He said out loud, letting anger creep into his voice. "Just this once." The woman looked relieved, but the fat guy with the watermelon shovel looked at him warily. He smirked a little, just to throw the HOLY member off guard, before activating his shell bullet and starting to dig.

-  
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Kanami's hand trembled slightly as she reached for the doorknob. Her nerves failed her and she called out instead. "Who's there?"

"Boo!"

"Boo who?"

"Why are ya crying, little girl?"

Kunihiko winced again, not from pain, but from the horrible knock-knock joke. Kanami giggled despite herself and opened the door.

Standing there was a tall man, taller than her Kazu-kun, with bright orange hair would probably burn the eyes if looked at too long. However, what made her quiet herself was the tell-tale blue and white uniform he wore. She heard Kimishima swear from his position on the couch. "Get away from her, HOLY bastard!" He took out the pistol he always kept handy inside his jacket and brandished it with surprising accuracy despite his injuries. Kanami rushed over to his side behind the arm of the couch.

The green-eyed man waved his hands in front of himself disarmingly, still grinning. "Hey now hey now, I mean no harm! I just want to know where I am, that's all. I'm lost, I'll have you know." _And besides, even if I did fight you, do you think you'd stand a chance? _headded silently. The little girl spoke up.

"Well, um, we call it Little Bun'ya," she said, voice reedy. Cougar frowned confusedly, before wincing. _DUH! HOLY has different numbers for different parts of the land outside the city, not names. _"OH NO NO NO! Whatever am I going to do! No matter – I will figure it out! I _am_ Straight Cougar after all! MUWAHAHA!" He posed dashingly, his teeth a-twinkle. Kanami and Kimishima glanced at each other, slightly alarmed by his amount of energy. "I know! Perhaps, I could find Kazuya or Minori-san! Ha-HA! Take that, Fate!"

The other two occupants of the room looked at each other again, this time wondering if the similarity between names was more than coincidence. Suddenly Kimishima spoke up. "Hey, what's your name again?"

"Name? What is my _name_! MY NAME IS STRAIGHT COUGAR, **_able to shrink the world with the record-breaking, sweat-breaking, authority-shaking, wager-making POWER of SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!_**"

"Er, yeah. You know Kazuma? I think he mentioned you once or twice." replied Kimishima casually.

"Kazuya? Yeah, sure I do!"

"No, Kazuma."

"That's what I said, Kazuya."

"No, it isn't."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it was NOT."

"Yeah."

"Nope"

"Yep."

"No, and you must be mistaken."

"Yes, and I do not make mistakes."

"No."

"YEAH."

"NO!"

"YES IT WAS!"

"NO IT WASN'T!"

"NO IT WASN'T!"

"YES IT – shit! You bastard!" glowered the non-Alter moodily.

Cougar grinned infuriatingly. "So whaddya say? We could find him together." offered Straight nicely.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly in a position to move around here, okay? Mimori set my bones and told me to stay put, so that's what I gotta do." grumbled Kunihiko good-naturedly. Cougar gaped at him, shutting up for a full thirty seconds.

"You... you... you... were treated... by the LOVELY, AMAZING, TALENTED, Minori-san! How is she? What's she look like? Is she living with KAZUYA! That woman-stealing bastard!"

"Whoa man, they're not like that!" yelled the other man, trying to violently behead the bout of proclamations that were soon to follow. "They. Are. Just. Friends. Got it? Good." The pair had to tell Ayase often enough, so Kimishima never forgot. Cougar looked exasperated.

"So do we just _wait?_" he asked incredulously. "What a waste of TIME! How can I shrink the world just STANDING here!"

"Well," huffed Kimishima, "You probably can't just here anyway. This isn't even our house. It belongs to Terada Ayase, not us. I doubt she wants HOLY in her household. Not to mention, all your yelling will probably wake Akira."

The door of the adjacent room opened as if on cue. The small, brown-haired boy looked at the strange man with confused eyes before shrinking back at the sight of the uniform. Tatsunami wasn't an easily recallable memory yet. "Um, hi." He said cautiously, looking at Kimishima for direction. He sighed. "This is Straight Cougar. I know that HOLY jacket usually equals bad, but I think that, just this once, we can trust him. But this is your house, so you can decide."

The boy looked startled at the amount of faith Kunihiko placed in him. "Well, if you think so, I think so, too." replied the small boy kindly.

"EXCELLENT!"

"For the love of GOD, shut up!"

-  
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It was no problem for Zetsuei to find firm ground to anchor on to. With one tentacle stuck in the dirt above, the other wrapped around the two former socialites, he – she? It? – flew upwards, settling them both on the ground. Mimori opened her mouth to thank him, but a shout interrupted her.

"Alright, that's it! I swear, if hear ONE more comment about how bad HOLY is, how impure they are, how we only hurt and never help, how we do anything you say, I will KILL SOMETHING! Since there are only TWO people in the immediate vicinity, and one is my colleague, can you GUESS who that might be!"

"Geez, you bossy bitch! There's no need for you to boss me around, especially when I could kick your ass so easy!"

"Hey you guys, let's just continue dig – "

"Oh can it, tubby!"

"I AM NOT TUBBY! JUST BIG-BONED!"

Mimori sighed and tapped Ryuhou, who seemed to have gone into something like a trance. His eyes were glazed over slightly, and he stared off at a point in the distance.

"Um, Ryuhou?"

Her voice did the trick and he blinked. "Huh? Oh." Zetsuei disappeared in a second and Mimori stepped back from him.

"Hey. Kazuma." she called out, trying to catch his attention. "Kazuma. IDIOT!" That caught all three diggers' attention.

"Whaddya wan – Mimori!"

"Ryuhou!" cried Scheris, running toward him. Urizane followed, a little sullen. Ryuhou and Mimori's brief camaraderie broken by the "HOLY Club" atmosphere, she quietly slid away from their mini-reunion. However, their attention was soon focused back on her by Kazuma' shout.

"Hey Mimori, I just love your new look!"

* * *

_I already told you, I hate being ahead of everyone else my age!_

_Mimori, you would learn nothing you didn't already know if you stayed with your age group._

_I know that, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Nobody takes me seriously!_

_You know what you need?_

_What?_

_A different style. We'll get your hair done – you've always needed bangs anyway – and pick out some clothes fitting for your new status. _

_I bet all the boys will rave!_

_What am I going to do with boys? I'm only eleven!_

_I can imagine it now: "Oh, Mimori-sama, we love your new your look!"_

_...am I adopted?

* * *

_

He was grinning in a somewhat perverse way. The heiress gasped and crossed her arms over her chest, scowling at him. The shirt she had become accustomed to wearing – a loose, navy, short-sleeved t-shirt – had not survived much of Urizane's explosion or her fall. The back of it had been completely except for a thin strip across the bottom, still connected to the front, and a thin strip across the top to which only the left side of the shirt was still attached. The right hung dangerously low, threatening to fall off. This also revealed the back of her bra for all to see.

Ryuhou, having been preoccupied with their rather emotional conversation and then their escape, hadn't really noticed this. And, as his gentlemanly nature required, he looked away politely and would have offered his jacket had had any jacket left to give. Pink dusted lightly across his cheeks.

"Hehe, I think Kimishima would like it too." He added, still smirking.

"You perv! Give me your jacket!"

"I'm not sure I want to..."

"I wonder what Kanami thinks of this side of you, hmm?"

"**_Here-fine-takeit!_**" He literally flung his jacket upon her, as if it burned him. Mimori smirked. "Good." She slipped it on and fastened it quickly. Ryuhou, who was watching them like a hawk (and consequently ignoring Scheris), frowned, almost wishing she'd just kept it off. It was almost like Kazuma was _marking _her.

_And it's almost like someone's a little jealous, _said a sly voice in the back of his head. He chose to ignore that thought and let his cold nature seep back into his mannerisms.

"Kazuma, are we going to finish this?" he asked, coolly looking over at the other Alter User expectantly. He smirked a little.

"You know it, pretty boy."

The other three there backed off. Mimori stood to the side, hating that they were going to fight but knowing there was nothing she could do about it. Scheris bit her lip and had much the same thought.

"Zetsuei!"

"Shocking-first-bull – " The ground rumbled slightly. A voice boomed out over the landscape.

"**Ryuu Ryuhou! Adjani Scheris! Urizane! Kiryu Mimori! NP3228!**"

Scheris gaped. "Is that... Kigetsuki?" Indeed it was. He was riding on top of a HOLY vehicle, megaphone in hand. Banka, Choka, and Shuka were crouched dutifully behind him. His vehicle seemed to be leading a convoy of at least twenty altogether.

"**All five of you are under arrest as of now! Surrender peacefully of except the consequences!**"

"What is he talking about?" yelled Urizane. "We ain't done nothing!" The two other HOLY members looked equally confused.

Kazuma and Mimori meanwhile, looked a little smug. "Can I have some fun with this one?" she asked him, eyes mischievous. "I particularly dislike Kigetsuki."

He sighed, world-weary. "If you must. I call next dibs, though."

Mimori smirked. "They'll never know what hit them..."

-  
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Tachibana Asuka was appreciative of a good mystery. He enjoyed the way a good thriller could pull a fast one, leaving the reader confused but excited. He especially enjoyed real-life whodunits. But if there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was a mystery he couldn't solve.

And Asuka could not, for the life of him, figure out why HOLY was targeting some nondescript house in this unobtrusive village called Little Bunion or something to that effect.

Life outside the City was a harsh one, but it was one he had experienced before. He had gone to Kazuma and Mimori's house – a place he visited every so often – only to find them gone. He had hoped in vain that they had heard rumors about the Alter Hunt too, and could help him either confirm or disprove them. Instead, he fiddled with the knobs and buttons of their HOLY radio until he picked up a message:

"_HOLD vehicle #B423, report to area Zebra, five miles south/southwest of the City. Objective: obtain Terada Akira by any means necessary." _

Exact coordinates were given, which Asuka confirmed with his map. He sped over there with his car, knowing he was closer and could probably investigate before HOLY arrived. He parked a good two-minute walk away – things as valuable as cars were not best to leave in the open – and asked around for the Terada house.

It was a decent place, considering. However, he heard yelling inside, which was most discomfiting. Perhaps they already knew of the Great Alter Hunt.

"EXCELLENT!"

"For the love of GOD, shut up!"

Asuka was about to knock when - "Why should I do that? **_ The faster we speak, the more words we can get out, the more information we can convey! Thaaaaat's the beauty of it all! _** SPEED IS SO WONDERFUL!"

Gasping, he swung the door open.

"Cougar, what the hell are you doing here?"

* * *

Ha, I just had to add the corny part in during the elevator scene. Couldn't resist. 

So! Tell me what you think. (Shameless plug: and don't forget to check out my one-shot, Mimori's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Lots of inital Mimori torture with R/M at the end. THE VERY END. You have to read to the VERY END. Comprende?)


	8. The Parting of the Ways

Wow, It's been a while. I've actually had this for months... but I felt like it needed something else. Then I realized that the next climactic fight wanted to come next chapter! Mad, eh? Anyway... enjoy!

* * *

_**Wages of Sin**_

**Chapter Seven**  
_  
The Parting of the Ways_

* * *

All were silent. 

Actually, all were feeling a bit awkward. They formed into a cramped circle in the living room; Kimishima looking prone on the couch with Akira picking nervously at its edge next to Kazuma, slouching lazily against the wall while Cougar paced with nervous energy and babbled incoherently, effectively developing a buffer between the criminal and the former HOLY employees. Tachibana completed the ring, sitting on an old wood chair next to Ryuhou and Kimishima. Mimori was in the bathroom having her wounds dressed again by Kanami, the eight-year-old who, sadly, had the most thorough medical background out of every other person there.

And because Mimori, who seemed to be the tie who connected everyone in this odd little group, was currently absent, the other group members were feeling considerably distant to their fellows. Scheris, tapping her fingernails against the wall nervously, allowed the little clicking sounds grow into a crescendo. Kimishima, nerve breaking, was about to comment when the door slammed open.

Ayase was definitely looking worse for wear. Her clothes were tattering at the edges, as well as mottled and dirt covered; her skin was little better. Her hair, normally meticulously groomed, seemed to falling out of her bun in random tufts. She took a deep breath and felt the brunt of their stares.

"_Mimori."_

"B-bathroom," replied Tachibana meekly. She swept past them boldly, never giving anyone a second glance, except her brother, for whom she spared a reassuring smile.

-

"Okay, that's good. Now, if you start rolling the bandages, we can both guide them around me until the wound is covered, all right?" said Mimori, drained of energy.

Upon returning to Ayase's house to find her not only gone, but gone for an extended length of time, Mimori had realized that the luxury of ignorance was not an option. How did HOLY view their escape? Would they pull back any squads near the five-some? Or would they commence in a full assault, bringing out their most powerful Users and those from the Mainland?

Asuka had wasted no time in informing her, for reasons unknown, HOLD was after Akira Terada, and that they would be here within the next hour and half. While she was grateful for the update, it wasn't exactly heartening news. All in all, not one of her better days.

_How did my life get so off track?_

* * *

_Today… is a horrible day. _

_Why is that?_

_I hate my life. I hate it. I hate being so smart, I hate not being able to trust anyone. I just HATE it!_

_Mimori dearest, what's gotten into you? _

_I just… sometimes I hate not being normal. _

_What is normal? Just a word, honey. Nothing more, nothing less._

_What does that mean? And how does that help me?!_

_Is Ryuhou normal?_

_No, but – _

_Does that make him bad? Like I said, it's just a word. That's it. _

* * *

"Like this?" 

"That's great, Kanami-chan. Why don't you go out in the kitchen? I'll take it from here."

"Ayase!" Mimori made to turn around at Kanami's cry but stopped and winced; her wounds were still troubling her. A reassuring hand on her shoulder told her to just relax. The long-haired woman began to gently bind Mimori's injury.

"Despite what you may think, I don't hate you. And I'm not mad at you for all these people in my house. I know… circumstances can get beyond your control very fast."

"B-but –"

Ayase tugged sharply on her bandages, quieting her. "Not right now. I know HOLY is on their way, and I don't need apologies or excuses. I need a plan."

"You are speaking my language."

-

It was getting to a point where nobody could look anyone else in the eye. And it was beginning to annoy him.

Ryuhou tapped his foot impatiently, almost with a nervous twitch. Sitting and waiting after all the action seemed… slow-moving and ominous.

"Hey, cut it out, will ya?" demanded Kazuma gruffly. He was still coming to terms with the fact that Kanami knew he was an Alter-User, something that had been revealed to her in his absence. She glanced shyly over at him every so often with curious eyes. He hated the sudden distance between the two of them, but strangely, felt unable to bridge that distance. Some suffocating feeling inside his chest prevented that from happening.

Ryuhou curled up his lip contemptuously but said nothing. Kazuma bristled.

"Hey, you got a problem, man?"

"Hmph."

"Don't talk down to me, you –"

"Kazuma, down boy," said Mimori sardonically from behind him. He turned around, scowling.

"Doesn't_he _get a sarcastic quip too?!"

She looked at him strangely. "That was… frightening. Kazuma, don't use such big words, and Ryuhou, please don't provoke him. We all know there's no love lost here." She walked past them and went outside. Meanwhile Ayase dragged their beat-up wood table into the center of the room without words. Mimori returned a few moments later, bearing the radio transmission of the HOLY vehicle, torn roughly out of the dashboard, which she placed on the center. Sitting down in Tachibana's proffered chair, she began to explain.

"Little did we know, friends and former HOLY employees, that since my escape, Jigmar has since installed tracking devices into each and every piece of equipment HOLY owns – guns, convoys, et cetera." To demonstrate, she pulled a tiny cylindrical object out of the wiring of the radio.

"Tiny; compact; high tech. Absolutely ingenious. Unfortunately, that means that they know where we are. And currently, they are on their way. Ayase and I have outlined a plan which will hopefully get us to safety until we can regroup and think of our long-term possibilities, whether they be with or without each other. First off… Akira and Kanami, go get the HOLY thing started up, would you?"

Kanami bit her lip. "But Mimori, I think we should know what's going on! It isn't fair –"

"Life is rarely fair, Kanami. But I will explain the rest to you when we leave, okay?"

She nodded unhappily and followed Akira outside.

"Hey, she's right. They should be in here while we explain it," said Kazuma. Mimori sighed. "They're just kids, Kazuma. They don't really know what we've gotten them into. If, for some reason, they were ever captured, it is best if they know as little as possible. Because everyone else here is mentally mature enough to accept what we're about to do, it's necessary that I explain it to them. But children have a romanticized view of life. They will not see the full danger of being captured by HOLY."

"We wouldn't treat them horribly," interrupted Scheris suddenly. She looked annoyed. "They are just kids, like you said."

Mimori suppressed the urge to flat out yell at the girl who had been testing her buttons at every given opportunity. Instead, her pent-up frustration spilled out in the form of biting, uncomplimentary words.

"Make no mistake, HOLY has no qualms as to the exploitation of children. That is quite obvious. How old we were you when you joined up? You definitely weren't an adult, that's for damn sure. Now zip the lip and turn up the hearing aid, honey, because I'm only going to say this once. This is my plan. You will listen to it. At such time that I am finished speaking, you can give constructive criticism and ask instruction as to implementation of this plan. Until that time is here, you will close your mouth and wait patiently until I am finished. If for some reason you have criticism or questions, you can raise your hand. Got it? Good, because I'm really not in the mood to deal with your attitude.

"In one car will be Cougar, Tachibana, Ayase, Akira, Kanami, Kimishima, and myself. In the other will be Scheris, Urizane, Ryuhou, and Kazuma. Kazuma, you guys have the most important job of all – "

"Are we the bait?" he asked suddenly.

Mimori blinked. "Um, yeah. Is it just me or are you getting smarter? Your job is to make a big enough distraction to get all of their attention, understand? Do this by any means necessary, short of killing. Now I will explain to you why this will be the arrangement, so certain people don't ask questions." She didn't look directly at Scheris, but the implication was clear.

"The people HOLY is after are Kazuma, Ryuhou, Scheris, Urizane, and myself. Therefore, you make the perfect bait. I would go with you… but I would slow you down because of my injury, and I need to coordinate the rest of us into getting everyone to safety. I send Kazuma because first of all, he won't hold back against HOLY but also because he's kind of a faith payment. Urizane and Scheris, you know Kazuma is my friend. I will come back for him. Is that enough of a guarantee? Good.

"Meanwhile, the rest of us in the other car will be creating the final diversion that will hopefully shut them down. Questions?"

Scheris raised her hand tentatively. "Yes?"

"Well, what exactly is the final diversion?"

"I'm – working on it," she admitted. "I just know I'll need Cougar to help for sure and possibly Tachibana."

"_**WA HOO!**_"

"Control yourself, Straight. I mean that," said Mimori, a slight grin on her face. "All clear?"

The response was all positive, some more hearty than others.

"Alright then… please don't die."

Kimishima blanched. "Geez, way to be a downer." She rolled her eyes.

"Fine- please stay alive."

-

It took five minutes before everyone was ready to leave. Ryuhou was waiting silently by Asuka's little blue car. He saw the others milling around, saying their goodbyes to Kazuma as he would not be traveling with them.

Mimori and Cougar were the last to leave the house, he speaking animatedly (as always) while she listened patiently, an amused smile on her face. Ryuhou's eyes suddenly zeroed in on her neck where a familiar necklace was hanging. He glanced over at Cougar to see that he was placing something in his pocket that caught the light momentarily. _So… she had something of his? _

"Hey, you all right up there?"

He looked at Scheris impassively. "Hm."

"You're a great conversationalist, you know," she replied with playful sarcasm. "Good luck out there, yeah?"

He nodded back. She was about to say something when –

"Ryuhou!"

Mimori beckoned him with a beseeching look on her face. He nodded again.

"I'll be back in a minute," Ryuhou said. "Just hold that thought." He missed Scheris' crestfallen gaze.

_If you say so… but I think I know better. _

-

Mimori looked up into the eyes she used to know so well. "Hey," she said.

"Hey."

"Ryuhou, I wanted to ask you if – well, if you thought that maybe Kazuma was acting kind of strangely… I mean, I know you guys aren't close by any long stretch, but I think anyone could say that perhaps Kazuma is –"

"Acting way too smart?"

"Yes. I was wondering if you could keep an eye on him for me."

Ryuhou nodded, and Mimori suddenly smiled at him. It wasn't a huge joy-filled fake smile that he would've hated. It was small and grateful and – _real_. He… appreciated it.

"Thank you so much, Ryuhou. That means a lot to me."

"You're welcome."

"MINORI-SAAAAAAN!"

She shot an annoyed glance over her shoulder. "I'm _coming,_Cougar!" With a shy smile she turned back to Ryuhou.

"Good luck," she said quietly.

"You, too."

They parted ways.

* * *

Well, how's that for a boring transitional chapter? Meh. Anyway, big plan is next chappie, so stay tuned!

* * *


	9. NOTICE: Revamp

Hullo everybody.

I've got a bit of bad news. Or it could very soon be bad news, for those of you who care. I've been toying with deleting this story for a while now... there is not a lot of interest on either my part or the part of the readers. I have no inspiration and frankly, it's awfully written, one of my very first fanfics. I just don't like it. The only way I would continue this story is through heavy revision, which has a chance of happening of slim to none.

If you'd like to put in your two cents, there's a poll on my profile, and you are free to review this chapter to tell me your feelings on the matter. I'm leaning heavily toward deleting it at this point, and it's going to take a lot to sway me. Please, don't feel obligated to say that I should continue. I want your honest opinion.

Thanks,

FPC

_**EDIT:**_ Wages of Sin will stay online, but is on a permanent hiatus.

Since I won't be continuing most likely, I'll give you a brief summary of what I had in mind initially for the conclusion of this particular arc.

The battle! Soo, everyone's fighting, blah blah blah, but suddenly Kazuma turns on Ryuhou and we learn that he had a chip implanted into his arm that gradually took control of his mind, which explains his recent smarts. He and Ryuhou engage in an all-out battle which nobody is able to stop. Near the end, it comes to our attention that all the power of Kazuma's alter has completely destroyed the little chip and he is now fighting Ryuhou simply for the sake of fighting him. Then they open up 'the Other Side', large explosion, blah blah blah, everyone is scattered everywhere, Ryuhou and Kazuma disappear, et cetera, et cetera. I'm sure that I had Mimori and Co. doing something as well, but I can't quite remember what it was.

Anyway, everybody eventually finds each other again, big battle ensues again Mainland ppl/that crazy gremlin guy whose name I can't remember, Ryuhou goes emo when people die, et cetera et cetera... I was thinking of an angsty finish, but I was undecided.

So that was the gist of the rest of the story. Oh, Mimori loses her alter power in the Alter Forest. Because she wasn't supposed to have one in the first place, it was destroying her body and shortening her lifespan.

The quote that inspired it all: "The wages of sin is death, sweetheart, that's all I'm saying." - from a musical I performed in called Bat Boy. Very campy, I loved it. Also, totally unrealistic, like this story.

Thanks for a good time, everybody!

Ferousha


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